


Fixing Bill Cipher

by adoritotree (AlgaLenn), NightWing18



Series: Lost and Found [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: (but not really), Adult Dipper Pines, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bill Cipher is a Jerk, Blindfolds, Bodyswap, Demon Bill Cipher, Dimension Travel, Dream Sex, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Human Bill Cipher, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, M/M, Magic bonds, Mutual Pining, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Polyamory, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Bill Cipher, Self-Harm, Sort Of, Stupid Compromises Are Made, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles, The Power of Scrapbooks, Triangle Bill Cipher, Voyeurism, dark themes, past trauma, the authors regret nothing, they'll talk about it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-06-16 20:15:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 105,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15444978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlgaLenn/pseuds/adoritotree, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightWing18/pseuds/NightWing18
Summary: After the ritual, Bill is back to his old self and Dipper has to try and keep himself from completely falling apart.





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> And here it is! Continuation to Of Triangles and Pine Trees, it picks up exactly where the other one left off. Hope you like it and if you come up with a better name for the series let me know because I'm the worst at titles. - Alga

**The cries of pain quickly turned into mad laughter and Bill's silhouette turned pitch black. The statue was gone and there was only Bill floating above the place where it used to be. The demon opened his eyes, two of them, both yellow with slit pupils. The black went away and he was wearing a suit, much like the one he had ordered months ago, except now he also had his hat, floating over his head, and a cane. "Oh, Gravity Falls! Always good to be back!" He said and then looked down at himself, making a face when he realized he had a human form. "No, no, this won't do," he added and his body started shifting as he turned back into a yellow triangle...**

 

Dipper backed up slowly, hesitated, waiting just a moment to see what would actually happen when Bill caught sight of him. The spell wasn’t long, he could spit it out in a couple seconds if necessary. Even as a thousand nightmares crowded his mind and his heart raced, breath harsh and too fast.

**When Bill was done he took a look at himself once again and hummed. "Yes, perfect, now... Who called me back..." The dream demon looked around and finally spotted Dipper, his eye widening in surprise. "Does my eye deceive me? Could it really be?" He floated closer to the human. "Mason Pines?"**

“I didn’t call you back,” he said firmly, staying in his crouched position. “Do you remember anything?” He tried, shifting back just a little, reciting the words in his head.

**"You're not going to get away with trying to kill me if that's what you mean!" Bill said and laughed before throwing himself at Dipper and pinning him against the nearest tree. "If you didn't call me then you really have the worst of luck, Pine Tree. Wrong place-" a bunch of arms sprung out of the triangle to get a better hold of Dipper (and claw at his skin a bit too)-" wrong time."**

“Perfect place. Perfect time,” he corrected, smirking darkly as he spit out the spell, pouring his anger and heartache and fear into it, pressing his thumb against the band of the ring to make sure it was still there. He could see the metal triangle, no doubts on that one. It was a good thing it was quick, or he’d have had no hope getting it out.

**"WHAT?! YOU-!" Bill didn't get the chance to finish that sentence, a shirk of real pain escaped him as glowing yellow shackles and chains appeared, chaining him to the ground and making him get smaller. Another chain appeared, connecting the golden triangle on Bill's arm to Dipper's ring. Bill felt powerless and he was breathless. The demon didn't remember the last time he had felt pain and hadn't enjoyed it. "Listen to me, Pine Tree," Bill started once he got his breath back. He looked up at the human, his eye red. "When I find my way out of this you'll wish I had killed you when you were twelve!"**

Dipper dropped to the ground, quickly using some of the bandages in his bag to stop the bleeding from the claws. His breath came out closer to soft sobs, tears in his eyes as he struggled to focus. One step at a time. Ignoring the words, he focused on this one task, only standing when he was sure he could face Bill without breaking down. “I wish that now,” he said, voice soft and dull- dead. “I should never have let you do this, I should have stopped you.” Angrily, he scrubbed at his eyes.

**Bill frowned. Dipper was making no sense, stop him from what? He had stopped him from starting Weirdmageddon, he had almost killed him for god's sake! The demon was surprised to be back, to be honest. "What are you talking about?" He questioned him and tried to stand, but Dipper clearly didn't want him to, because the chains got tighter. The demon wasn't sure the other was aware he was controlling them, he didn't seem to be in the right state of mind to do it consciously... But of course, Bill wouldn't be the one to make him aware of the fact that his mind was in complete control of him now.**

“You’ve been here for nearly six months, Bill,” he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. “But you don’t remember any of it! I knew this would happen,” his voice dropped into a self-deprecating growl as he paced in front of the demon. “I should have tried harder to stop you, but you were so adamant that nothing would change, that nothing could go wrong, and here we are.” Storming passed Bill, he started breaking down the ritual site, destroying everything and carefully wrapping the knife again, shoving it back in his bag along with the box.

**"What? No, it can't be," Bill struggled against the bonds, who just kept getting tighter. There was no way he had been back in Gravity Falls for that long and the Pines weren't all dead. He refused to believe he hadn't managed to get rid of them, he refused to believe that him, the master of the mind, had lost his own memories. "Stop lying, Pine Tree."**

“I have pictures,” he said simply. “You’ve been working at the Shack and everything. Probably helps that you were human the entire time.” He shrugged slightly, sinking to the ground in front of the demon, resting against a chair. “And we were dating,” he added after a moment, finding no harm in laying it all out.

**"What?!" Bill started laughing again, his body shaking. "Me? Date? What would be the point of that! And you!? Really?" It was nonsense, 'LOVE' was the human sick raw biological urge to reproduce trying to dress up in a suit and charm its way through the opera, if Bill had really been dating  Dipper then he had to have had an ulterior motive. But he hadn't been, Pine Tree was obviously lying, the Great Bill Cipher didn't forget his own memories.**

Dipper pulled out his phone, standing slowly and moving over to Bill. Opening it, he silently started flipping through photos- Bill had seen his human body, after all, there was no question who this was. Selfie style, of them, hanging out, playing games, a smiling Dipper with a sleeping Bill on his chest, several were the All-Seeing Eye wasn’t covered. More, taken by Mabel- curled up on the couch, playing piano with Dipper’s head rested on Bill’s shoulder, working the store. Domestic. When he was done, he shut his phone off and moved away again.

**Bill had to accept that the pictures were convincing, but still, if that was really him then there had to be an ulterior motive, nothing else, no emotions, not with him. "Alright, so maybe you're not lying, that doesn't change anything, I'm still going to enjoy killing you slowly once I get out of here." Bill struggled against the bonds a bit again, but it was useless, of course.**

“You say that like its even possible for you to get out,” he said darkly, resting his head against the tree and staring up at the leaves. “And you’re assuming I’ll still be alive when you do.” He was trying, really really trying. But he could already feel himself slipping a little. Shaking his head quickly, he took a deep breath and tossed his phone from hand to hand. “I should call Ford.”

**Bill grinned. "You're right, Pine Tree... There's nothing I can do now, I'm harmless and you have no purpose anymore..." The demon knew the only way to get out of this was for one of them to die and it seemed like Dipper would make it easier than he had first thought. Maybe he wouldn't get to enjoy killing Dipper, but he would still have the rest of the Pines family.**

“Okay, that was a little far,” he said simply, running his thumb over the ring again. “Just because I’m a mess doesn’t mean I’d give you the satisfaction. I wonder if our deals are still in place,” he added thoughtfully.

**Bill growled a little and looked away. He wanted to know exactly what kind of deal they had made, but he knew the other wouldn't tell him. "Great, I don't even get entertainment..." He crossed his arms over his body and sighed. "Are we going to stay out here forever or what?"**

“Sucks to suck,” he said, humming faintly. Shrugging a little, he looked up at Bill. “Don’t know. Not really sure what to do with you. I still really like you, so I don’t want to kill you. But I can really just have you around.” Shrugging again, he swiped to Ford’s number and called him.

**Bill rolled his eyes. "You're the living proof that emotions are just a problem, a weakness, you see that kid, right?" But he supposed he should be grateful for Dipper's feelings, without them he would be dead.**

**"Dipper! How did everything go? Everything okay?" Ford asked the second he answered the call.**

“There the only reason you’re alive,” he said calmly.

“... it all worked if that’s what you’re asking. Both the ritual and the binding spell. Thanks for that, by the way, I’d probably be dead if you hadn’t given it to me. I, uh... don’t really know what to do now.”

**"Oh... Dipper, I'm so sorry..." Ford said, feeling terrible for his nephew. As much as he hadn't liked Bill's and Dipper's relationship, it had been good for Dipper, he was happy again. Ford really hadn't wanted him to lose that. "I'll be there in a few minutes, I'll help you carry him here... Or you could make him teleport you to the shack, whatever you prefer. We'll figure out a way to fix this, don't worry," Ford said, hoping he wasn't promising Dipper something impossible.**

"Is it really a good idea to bring him there?" He asked quietly, glancing at the triangle demon before turning away again. "I wasn't sure if it was... and I won't do it if Mabel and Stan are still there- they left, right?"

**"Yes, Mabel had a date and Stan didn't want to tell me where he was going, so I assume a date as well," Ford told Dipper as he walked around the lab to prepare everything for Bill's stay. "Don't worry, Dipper, he can't do anything unless you let him, you control him now," he reminded his nephew.**

"Right... Right, okay... Um.. We'll be there soon, I guess. Thanks, Ford," he said quietly, squaring his shoulders and hanging up. Keeping his back straight, he turned to face Bill once more. Nothing flickered across his face, his hands shoved into his pocket. "We're going to the Mystery Shack," he said simply, firmly, a drastic difference from how he was talking just a few short minutes ago- all the emotions had been wiped away, leaving a dark, blank slate. "So take us there. Now."

**The demon glared at the human, but he could feel the pull of the spell, he knew he couldn't refuse to do what the other ordered him. "Don't get too used to this, Pine Tree," Bill warned him and stood up. This time the chains let him, of course, they did. The demon opened a rift, sort of like he had tore open the fabric of reality. "There, humans first."**

Dipper rolled his eyes. "I think you should get used to it, actually," he smirked, stepping through the portal into the Mystery Shack and waiting for Bill to follow before calling out to Ford. "Where am I taking him?"

**Ford gulped when he saw Dipper, the darkness in his eyes, his expression a blank slate with no emotions... Last time he had seen him like this it really hadn't been one of Dipper's best moments. "Here, follow me," Ford said after hesitating for a few seconds. He wouldn't talk to Dipper about it in front of the demon. The old man guided Dipper and Bill to the back of the lab, to a cell he had prepared to contain dangerous creatures.**

Dipper simply met Ford's eyes, not reacting to what was happening around him. Saying nothing, he followed Ford through the lab, stepping off to the side and simply pointing to the cell, staring straight ahead as he waited for Bill to follow the, surprisingly forceful, silent command. He was already getting the hang of the ring, his control over the demon- he was always a quick study. Another surprise- when he closed the cell, it was silent; no hard slam that would have matched the rest of his current attitude.

**Bill had never seen the human-like this and while he wouldn't show it, it was more than a little intimidating. It didn't matter though, nothing could scare Bill off.**

* * *

**Once the demon was locked, Ford turned to face his nephew. "How are you feeling, Dipper, you don't seem okay..."**

"What are you talking about, Ford?" He asked blankly, his trademark smile breaking across his face in a sudden, jarring shift- something only Bill had seen before. "I'm always okay, aren't I? You should know that by now."

**Ford sighed and pulled Dipper into a hug. He knew the other wouldn't open up immediately, he would give him time. "We'll fix this, okay? We will," he reassured him again.**

Dipper didn't move for a few moments, before he broke, hugging him back tightly. "There's nothing to fix," he said weakly, hiding his face in Ford's shoulder.

**"Yes, there is, we'll make him remember," Ford said and patted Dipper's back a couple of times before letting go to look at his nephew in the eyes. "Everything will go back to normal, we'll find a way." Ford glanced at Dipper's backpack for a second and then back as Dipper. "But I'm going to need the knife back..." The last thing Dipper needed at the moment was something sharp like that knife.**

"If you say so..." Dipper rubbed at his eyes, nodding a little before glancing at the bag. "Oh... Oh, yeah. You should probably take that. Not really safe with me, is it?" He laughed, dark and jagged, before setting it down and crouching to pull out the knife, handing it up to Ford. Bill's blood still stained the blade.(edited)

**Ford took it and wrapped it in the first cloth he could find, then he turned to face Dipper again. "Everything will be fine, you'll be fine, alright? I know you're strong, Dipper, you can get past this." Ford placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Don't let this get to you."**

Dipper nodded again, running his fingers through his hair. "I'll... heh, I'll do my best, Ford," he assured, smiling a little before pulling away. "I'm.. really tired. I'm gonna rest, okay?" He said, heading up the stairs and going straight to the room he shared with Bill.

**"Right, I'm going to start researching, you rest as much as you need." Ford headed back to the library area of the lab and started. He hoped, for Dipper's sake more than anything else, that he would find something.**

Dipper shut and locked the door behind him, dropping on to the bed that smelled like Bill, wrapped himself up into the blanket, and... dissolved into silent tears. Curling into a tight ball, hiding his face in the pillow to stay silent.

 


	2. Trying to Remember Old Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of research and maybe a little bit of hope?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not all that satisfied with where I ended this chapter, but i wanted to give you guys a new one this weekend, so... The next one will probably take longer though, I'm really busy atm. - Alga

**Dipper had no idea, but even with distance between them his thoughts affected the demon and Dipper clearly continued to think of him with a human body because when Bill less expected him he turned back to the form he had tried to get rid off, except this time he was missing an eye and wearing an eyepatch, like in the pictures Dipper had shown him. This so far was definitely in the top 5 of worse situations Bill had lived.**

Dipper couldn’t hold out against the exhaustion for long, between everything that had happened and the tears. Curling his hand into Bill’s pillow, he passed out. For a while, things were peaceful. Perhaps he would luck out. 

* * *

 

A nightmare woke him the next morning, tearing at his mind as he clawed his way back to the living with barely controlled sobs.

 **_Ugh, your dreams are boring, Pine Tree._ ** **Bill said in Dipper’s mind once he had woken up. This was the only thing that he could do without Dipper allowing him to because it was part of the binding spell. It was shit though, to have access to Dipper’s mind while he slept but not being able to change anything, just watch, like being forced to watch the same infomercial channel for hours every night. The demon knew it was just part of the torture created by whoever had made the spell in the first place, it was supposed to taunt him.**

 _Not here for your entertainment,_ he responded, wiping at his eyes and taking several slow, deep breaths, laying back after a moment and closing his eyes again. It was early, he wasn’t ready to face the morning, the people in the Shack. His own mistakes and sorrow. It took him a while to gather the energy to actually get out of bed and move to the shower.

 **_No, I suppose I’m here for yours or whatever._ ** **Bill sighed and laid down on the floor of his cell. He raised his hands and took a look at them. He supposed five fingers were better for playing the piano... but it wasn’t like he could at the moment.** **_By the way, if you’re going to be forcing me to be in a human body then at least give me two eyes, kid._ ** **Bill took off the eyepatch and probed at the mangled spot where the other eye was supposed to be.**

 _Not really._ He didn’t answer again until he was finished getting dressed and heading towards the kitchen for something to eat. He’d taken one of Bill’s yellow button-ups and tossed it over his t-shirt. _Didn’t know I was making you do that. It’s probably the body you had before. Ford stabbed out the other eye._ Making some toast, he sighed quietly, taking a seat at the piano and plucking at the keys.

 **_Great, you really have no idea what you’re doing, just like I suspected._ ** **Bill rolled his eye and stood up to pace around the cell. At least the chains weren’t getting tighter this time, that was a plus.**

 _I’m learning pretty quick._ He continued to play, picking out the tune Bill had taught him their first night in his mind.

**The demon felt the pull of the bond again, Dipper drawing magic from him. If he was doing it on purpose the demon really couldn't tell. He didn't ask, didn't say anything. At least he wasn't taking much, it didn't hurt too badly and if it weren't for the reason why it hurt then it might have been a kind of pain Bill could have enjoyed.**

**Ford heard the piano from his room and headed to the shop. "I had no idea you played so well, Dipper." He pointed out after listening from the doorway for a couple of minutes. He played almost as well as Bill and it made Ford wonder...**

Dipper was barely listening to the notes, a far-off look on his face as he played. “Hm,..?” Pausing, he looked down, stopping the playing. “Oh... Don't I? I normally can just pick at the keys. Guess I just learned this one better...?”

**Oh... No, it wasn't that, Ford glanced down at Dipper's hand, where the triangle on the ring was glowing lightly. He had no idea it would be so easy for Dipper to draw from the bond, that he wouldn't even realize he was doing it. "You're actually taking power from Bill there." Ford walked closed to Dipper and pointed at the ring. "I guess you weren't doing it on purpose."**

Dipper frowned, looking down at the ring as well. “Oh... I didn’t realize that was a thing I could do.” Shrugging a little, he twisted the ring around his finger slowly, before letting go to pull on the sleeves of the borrowed shirt slightly. “What are you doing today?”

**Ford bit his lip. He was worried about Dipper and he didn't want to leave him alone, but..."I was planning to go to Fiddleford's place, see if I can find something in his library that might help us get Bill's memories back if someone knows something about that is him," the old man explained. "You need to be careful with that spell, Dipper, if you can't control it Bill will find a way to use it against you."**

Dipper paused before nodding, shutting the piano and setting back. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine, Ford. I’ll figure this out.” He had to, there was very little choice in the matter. He’d work through this, figure out how this spell really worked. “Do you have anything on it? Research?”

**Ford nodded. "Not much, but you should find it in one of the journals I wrote while sailing with Stan," he said and then grabbed his trenchcoat and put it on. "If anything goes wrong, you call me, okay? Stan is still sleeping, but I left him a note asking him to please not bother you."**

Dipper stood. “I’ll look through them, then.” He said, nodding firmly and fixing the shirt, doing up the buttons, and sliding his phone in his pocket. “I will. You’re on speed dial, after all.” He flashed a smile, moving to pass him and head to the lab.

**Ford watched him go, the worried look still on his face. He really hoped Dipper would be fine and that they would find a way to fix this... He should have destroyed the statue when he had the chance, containment unit ready or not.**

Dipper paused at the door for just a moment before squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath. Pushing the door open, he walked down the stairs and immediately went to the library to start pulling journals.

**Bill heard someone was around the lab and stood up from the floor. "Sixer, is that you?" He asked though he was pretty sure it was Dipper, the chains seemed to glow brighter when he was around. That gave Bill an idea. "Have you come to experiment on me again? I- I don't think I can take it..." the demon added, letting his voice crack a little. Dipper was supposed to care about him, right? Maybe he could trick him into letting him out of the cell or even letting him go, make him feel guilty enough.**

“He hasn’t been experimenting on you,” Dipper said firmly, voice dark and empty as he brought a stack of journals to a table and sat down, starting with the earliest and working through the pages at a steady pace.

**"And how would you know that? You can't even tell when you're using me as a battery for whatever you like to do in your free time, Pine Tree." Bill pulled at the chains once again and when they didn't bulge he banged his head against the door of his cell, feeling utterly frustrated. Then he did it again and again until blood started dripping from a cut on his forehead. "At least let me out of here!"**

“Because I know him. And he knows what you mean to me. So he wouldn’t do something like that.” He was incredibly confident in his answer, his faith in Ford unshaken. “Now that I know, I won’t be doing it again,” he said simply, frowning slightly as he shut the journal and moved on to the next one. However, it took no time for him to be up, opening the door to the cell, bandages in hand- and all it took was one look at Bill for his heart to sink. “Stop it!” He said firmly, hiding the shake in his voice. “And let me fix that before it gets bad.”

**Bill touched the cut and then looked down at his hand. The blood was red, of course, it was, the form Dipper had made him have was as close to a human as it could get. "You know, I could fix it myself if it weren't for these." The demon tugged at the chains. "Or if you just ordered me to." But of course Dipper hadn't done that, he had asked for him to let him fix it, so the demon had no choice but to allow him.**

Dipper was already cleaning the cut and wrapping his head, being incredibly careful and gentle. “You know, I don’t actually enjoy ordering anyone around. So the fact that I can do it to you is going to slip my mind pretty frequently.” Finished, he stepped back, nodding a little before turning to leave again.

**"Don't worry, I'm sure with time you'll learn," Bill said and followed the human out of the cell before the other could close it. "And when you do we'll see who's the real bad guy here. Power corrupts, Pine Tree."**

Dipper just shrugged, taking his seat again. “Guess we’ll see, won’t we,” he hummed, propping his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand as he continued to look through the journal in front of him. He wouldn’t be, that was the point- he cared about Bill too much to ever willingly do something like that.

**Bill sat in front od Dipper and put most of the chains on the table so that their weight could be more manageable. He observed Dipper as he read and tried to come up with a plan to get out of this. He really was screwed though, he knew it, there was no way to get out of the binding spell without one of them dying, he wouldn't be the first one to try.**

Dipper let the silence stretch on, clearly having no problem with it whatsoever. He just continued to work on the journals, making his way through them and using the words to block out his thoughts.

**Eventually, Bill just started reading the journals as well. Dipper was doing nothing to hide them from him and it wasn't difficult for the demon to read upside down, so he went with it. "Sixer really knew nothing about this, I'm surprised he even considered using it himself, let alone let you use it."**

“He figured things out,” he hummed, having to dig down to the bottom of the stack to work no way backward instead- it proved to be much more useful. “And he knew what was at stake, this was really my only chance.”

**"Well, you're right about that, I'd have loved to kill you in the forest." Bill let out a wishful sigh and then rested his head on the table, using his arms as a pillow. "And now I'm bound to you till you either die from natural causes, someone kills you or you kill yourself. Guess which one I'd enjoy the most."**

“Yep,” he agreed, clearly not that that upset by the prospect. He had seen it coming, after all. It was why he’d fought so hard to get the binding spell on his boyfriend in the first place. “I’d imagine my suicide. Natural causes are too easy, and you’d be too jealous of not getting to kill me yourself if someone else did it.”

**"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" Bill grinned and booped Dipper's nose. "How long are you going to make me wait? I mean, I have all the time in the world, immortal being and all that, but I'd really love to be out of this chains by next Friday."**

"See, I've already done the whole 'try and kill myself' thing, and it wasn't as great as I hoped it would be. So, it isn't going to happen again, not for one hell of a long time. Guess you'll just have to deal with it."

**Bill faked a pout and then he reached for one of the journals Dipper had already gone through while he was still inside the cell. "So, since I can't do anything to harm anyone here as long as you're in control of my powers..." he started and opened the journal. "And you seem so sure that Fordsie doesn't want to experiment on me..." he continued. "Will you let me stay somewhere more comfortable than that awful cell? You know, since you care about me."**

"I care about you. I don't trust you. Not now." He said calmly, shutting the journal and looking up to meet Bill's eyes. "Besides. Where would I put you? There's sharing with Mabel, but you aren't doing that. Or me, but... eh. Not sure how I feel about that."

**Bill grinned and took Dipper's hand. "Oh, I bet you'd like that..." Dipper really shouldn't have let Bill know that they supposedly had had something, it was too big for the demon not to try and exploit it.**

Dipper, quite easily, pulled his hand away and set it back on the table. "See, that comes back to that trust thing," he said, focusing back on the journal. "And that whole 'sharing a room with someone that wants to kill me' thing. Neither one is something I'm willing to compromise on. Face it, Bill, you have nothing to bargain."

**"Oh, really? I have the body you want, Pine Tree," Bill reminded him. "You might act all tough now, but I can see behind that mask, you're falling apart, you're having nightmares without me having to do anything." Boring nightmares, sure, Bill knew he was able to come up with better ones, but still. "Eventually you'll want me by your side again, human emotions make you weak and predictable. "**

"You're acting like I like you because of your body," he hummed, arching an eyebrow. "Not even close. Your body isn't what made me care about you, and I'm not interested in trying to get your mind back to what had me caring about you. Mainly because I don't think it's even possible- kind involves you having feelings." He smirked a little. "Please. I've had nightmares for years, last nights was nothing new."

**Bill narrowed his eyes at Dipper. This was going to be harder than he had first though, but he loved a challenge, he would find a way to break Dipper even further. “If you really didn’t care about my looks that much then you wouldn’t have made me change, your subconscious is against you, it will be your doom,” he warned the other before he stood up and headed back to his cell. He had nothing more to do there.**

Dipper just rolled his eyes, focusing on the books again. He didn’t move until the demon had been in the cell for a while, and even then it was only to go and shut the door, locking it again. He didn’t say his body didn’t matter at all, after all- just that it wasn’t the most important thing. This version of Bill had the same body and basic personality, he wouldn’t sit up with him playing the piano to lull him to sleep.

**"Hey, kid, let me at least create a ball so I can toss something to the wall. I might just die of boredom here," the demon asked when the other went to close his door. Was he really doomed to stay in this cell forever? To be bound to his mortal enemy until he died? If it had been another version of Pine Tree then maybe he wouldn't have cared so much, maybe they would be using his powers in the way they were supposed to be used. This was the worst-case scenario.**

“Sure. Go right ahead.” He called, smiling a little as he finished the journals that had anything to do with the binding spell. Or Bill in general. Sighing, he stood and stretched, yawning softly.

**Bill created a small ball and tried to entertain himself with it for the time being. "So, did you find anything useful in Sixer's journals?" He asked after hearing the yawn.**

"A lot about how the binding spell works. What I can do with it and how to do it safely," he hummed, starting to walk around the table. "Stressing the importance of learning to always be aware of what I'm doing and how it relates to the spell and what I'm making you do."

**“I bet it doesn’t say that it hurts when you’re making me do stuff against my will,” Bill commented and grinned. He wished he could see Dipper’s expression at the moment.**

Dipper paused for just a moment. "Nope. Didn't say that. But you've always liked a little pain, haven't you? It's why you were fine with slamming your head into the door until it bled all over the place."

**“That’s true, that’s true... but do you really feel okay with being that one causing me pain, Pine Tree?” The demon inquired.**

"I'm not really okay with causing anyone pain," he said, choosing his words with care so he wouldn't give anything away. "But if the choice comes down to causing you a little pain, or giving you free reign to torture and kill anyone as you like, well. The answer is pretty clear."

**“So you’re going to what? Use my powers for good? Help people? Just kill me, Pine Tree.” Bill rolled his eye and sighed. He would come back, right? He still hadn’t used the favor the Axolotl had offered him... right? He wasn’t actually sure, he couldn’t remember.**

"Maybe I won't use your powers for anything," he said thoughtfully, continuing to lap the room. "And I don't want to kill you. You already came back once, we had a whole big deal about how awful it was that the Axolotl brought you back without your powers in the first place."

**“Right and I’m supposed to believe you let me get them back, sure.” It just didn’t make sense, even if Bill had kept a secret that the nature of his powers would likely ‘corrupt’ him again, he wouldn’t have allowed it, he had to be really stupid to let that happen.**

"I don't really care what you believe," he said calmly. "I mean, it's the truth, but it's up to you to decide what you believe happened. But I'm not really getting anything by lying to you, so..."

**“Maybe you’re telling the truth, I’m not sure yet...” Bill sighed and rubbed his eye. “Or at least you believe your story is the truth, I could have been hiding my real intentions from you all along,” he said, mostly to himself this time.**

He didn’t say anything to that- it was something he had already thought of, and it wasn’t something he was going to bother with anymore. It wasn’t like he knew Bill’s intentions, not really. No one every really knew anyone's. He wanted to believe that the demon hadn’t been tricking him, that he honestly liked him, so that’s what he was going to think. “Do you need to eat?” He asked. “I’m going to go make something.”

**“I’m a being of pure energy, why would.I need human food?” Bill said and then he went back to throwing the ball against the wall and catching it when it bounced back to him. “Hey, since you don’t care about looks, would you let me have my true form back?” Geez, he couldn’t believe he was asking nicely**

“It was just a question,” he said simply, heading for the stairs. Pausing with one foot on the bottom step, he nodded, putting a little effort into making the magic stick. “Yeah. Go ahead.”

**“Great! Th-” Bill started saying but he stopped himself before another word could come out of his mouth. Had he seriously been about to say ‘thanks’? Him? No, no way. “Hope you break a leg walking upstairs!” He said instead and then changed back to his usual triangle form.**

Dipper grinned. “You’re welcome,” he hummed under his breath. “Yeah, maybe some other time!” He called back, making it way up. He returned a short time later with his laptop and scrambled eggs.

**The demon leaned against the door of his cell and watched Dipper. “Are you going to stay down here with me all the time? Are you really that desperate for company?” He asked with a smug look on his face.**

“Ford has better WiFi,” he said, plugging his headphones in and pulling them over his head. “I do work down here a lot, you being here isn’t going to change anything.” It was really easy to ignore Bill now, turning on soft music and getting to work.

**Bill frowned an threw the ball at Dipper when he noticed the other was ignoring him. “Hey, nobody ignores me, Pine Tree, if you’re going to be down here lets at least talk!”**

Dipper caught the ball with ease, throwing it back at Bill. “I like how you’re acting like you’re still in charge,” he hummed but pulled his headphones off anyway. “What do you want to talk about?”

**Bill grinned and leaned against the wall. He was still in charge, even if Dipper was in control of his powers, Bill was still the master of the mind, he knew how to make others do his biding... Sure, maybe it would be harder with Dipper since he already knew his tricks and wouldn’t trust him, but it definitely wasn’t impossible. The demon just needed to get the other to let his guard down. “I don’t know, how about you refresh my memory?” He proposed. Showing interest in what had supposedly happened was a good way to start.**

“What do you want to know?” He asked, typing away and clearly only giving Bill a fraction of his attention. “You were a terrible cook, and you wore brown contacts to hide your eye. That stuff?”

**“No, I want to know what you’d want me to know.” The demon said and threw the ball back at Dipper, hoping this time he would be distracted enough not to catch it.**

Dipper caught it without even looking g away from the screen. “You taught me piano. Or tried, anyway. One song.”

**“Huh, really? I had enough patience for that?” Bill asked, raising his eyebrow. That kind of things was what made the whole ordeal pretty hard to believe. “What song?”**

“Yeah. You didn’t teach me properly or anything just showed me how to play the notes.” Dipper paused, frowning slightly. “You didn’t tell me a name. I can hum it for you?”

**“Sure, go ahead,” Bill said and waited. What could he say? His interest was piqued, okay? If what Dipper said was true, it really was something odd. Bill had never found it in himself to share any kind of knowledge with anyone unless they paid the right price.**

Dipper took a breath, gathering his thoughts for just a moment before starting to hum the notes that had been etched into his brain.

**Bill immediately recognized the soon and laughed. “Well, of course! ‘We’ll Meet Again’,” he told the human. “I sang that to old Fordsie when I trapped him in the Fearamid, it’s a promise I made to him a long time ago.” He grinned. “I always kee my promises. Well, no, not always, only when there’s something in it for me”**

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Of course it is,” he hummed, turning back to his work. “You’d play a lot. For anyone. But I was the only one who got to request songs.”

**“So I just liked your taste in music, doesn’t really mean anything,” Bill looked away and sighed. Playing the piano sounded like something he would love to do right now, it would definitely help with his boredom. He had to get more information out of Dipper though. “Anything else? Or did out the whole ‘relationship’ revolve over the piano?”**

“We went on dates and stuff,” he said, purposefully vague. “Spent nights stargazing, reading, generally doing boyfriend things. We spent a few days in a hotel.”

**“Sounds boooriiing,” Bill yawned and closed his eye. Well, at least it sounded better than being in a cell with nothing to do. But still, why would he want to do that sort of stuff? “Throw the ball back, Pine Tree.”**

Dipper tossed the ball back, starting to type again. “We had fun. You laughed a lot.” Shrugging a little, he glanced at Bill

**“Fun? Fun is tearing apart a human limb by limb, stargazing isn’t fun, you can’t even see that many stars from Earth and your dimension doesn’t even have the more interesting and tasty kind of stars,” Bill commented and picked up the ball from the ground. “Did I ever really said I was having fun? Because if I did I was probably faking.”**

“No. You didn’t.” He watched him for just a moment before focusing on what he was doing instead. “You did tell me about your favorite constellation from you dimension, though.”

**That made Bill tense a little, caught him by surprise, but soon he was back to his usual unimpressed self. “Oh, really? Which one is it?” How had he gotten to the point where he would share that with Dipper? Talk about his dimension, really? And that constellation... The story behind it got too close to home for Bill and he never talked about what had happened, not with anyone but maybe himself.**

“You described it as a baby wolf cub- but your dimension doesn’t have wolves,” he started, focusing on the demon. “That he had been left to die a few days after being born for being too weak, but he grew strong instead. You even mentioned that on the other side of the sky you can see the pack half of the time- and that the cub supposedly killed them.”

**The demon closed his hands into a fist. What had Pine Tree done to him to make him reveal something like that with so much detail... “Geez, and you believed those lies? That constellation doesn’t even exist,” Bill pointed out. It was technically not a lie, his whole dimension didn’t exist anymore.**

Dipper paused, slowly standing and walking over to the cell again, stopping just a few feet from Bill. “But it used to, right?” He said slowly.

**Bill rolled his eye. “No, it never did, it was just a story I made up for you, obviously. You want to know what my favorite constellation really is, Pine Tree?” The triangle pointed at Dipper’s forehead. “That one, but only when it’s covered in your own blood.”**

Dipper smiled slowly, darkly, leaning closer, close enough that Bill actually poked him in the forehead. “Don’t. Lie to me.” The command was simple but super charged.

**Bill glared at Dipper and tried to resist the command, but eventually, the pain became too much even for him to bear and he had to obey. “FINE! IT WAS MY FAVORITE CONSTELLATION, SO WHAT? IT DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING.”**

He stepped back, slowly releasing the magic and the command. Already, he was getting a better understanding of what this meant, how to push and pull at the spell. He wouldn’t use it very often, Bill in pain caused a twist of agony in his soul, but it was necessary for now. “Why is it your favorite?”

**Bill narrowed his eye at Dipper. “Oh, you really don’t know? Your beloved great uncle never tell you? That’s my story, Pine Tree,” Bill revealed. “I slaughtered my whole family and burned my dimension to the ground and you know what? I enjoyed every second of it.”**

Dipper hummed a little. “You know? I can completely believe that.” There wasn’t any anger Satisfied, he picked up the ball, tossed it into Bill’s hands, and made his way back to the table.

**Bill threw the ball into a far corner of the room in anger, not taking into account that it would come back and hit him in the eye. “Fuck!” He cursed when it did and then he closed and laid down on the floor. Why did the universe hate him so much lately?**

“Are you okay!?” He asked, genuinely concerned as he crossed the space to kneel near Bill.

 **“** I’M **FINE.” Bill stood up again and moved to the corner of the room, as far from Dipper as possible.**

Dipper watched him for a moment, before letting out a slow breath and standing again. “Alright. If you’re sure,” he said, a little gentler then normal, before retreating to his desk.

 **“I’m sure,” the triangle said and laid down again, giving his back to Dipper.**  

* * *

 

 

**Ford returned after a couple of hours and headed straight for his lab since he assumed Dipper would be there. “Dipper? Do you have a moment? We need to talk about something.”**

Dipper pulled his headphones off, looking back at Ford. “Hm? Yeah. I’ve got nothing but time.” Standing, he made his way over to his uncle, assuming he wouldn’t want to talk in front of Bill.

**“Good, let’s go upstairs.” It wasn’t that the information he had was all that sensitive, but Ford knew Bill, he would find a way to use anything against them. Once they were back upstairs he closed the door to his lab and turned to face Dipper. “I have good news and bad news which ones do you want to hear first?”**

Dipper nodded, following along, up the stairs to the main part of the house. Pausing, he frowned slightly. “Uh.. bad news.”

**“Well, the bad news is Fiddleford and I still haven’t thought of a way to get Bill’s memories back...” Ford said and lowered his gaze a little. “But he says he’ll keep looking and he also told me to say hi to you.” The old scientist smiled a little and ruffled Dipper’s hair.**

Dipper nodded slowly, sighing softly-  but he couldn’t help but laugh when Ford ruffled his hair. “Is that the good news?” He asked with a smile.

**“No, no, I have real good news,” Ford reassured him. “He told me there used to be a couple of scrolls in the Northwest manor. He couldn’t find them, but they weren’t only about our Bill, some of them also mentioned Will and if he really is just like Bill then it means I was wrong about a few things...” It wasn’t easy to admit it, but oh well, if they were right it meant not all was lost.**

Dipper paused for just a moment, thinking, before practically shouting “I have those!” And breaking off to race to his and Bill’s room. He returned in just a few minutes with the scrolls pressed to his chest. “We grabbed them when we were looking for books; neither of us could actually read them, though it looks familiar like I’ve seen it before, but I couldn’t place it or figure it out,” he explained, heading to the kitchen table to spread them out.

**Ford grabbed one of the scrolls and inspected it. “Oh... This... I always thought it was a cipher Bill had created... I guess I was wrong if Bill can’t read it, but I figured it out, I actually based my own on this one.” Ford went to sit on the couch as he read through it. “This is the thing, Will, he’s supposed to be just like Bill, except he expresses his feelings a lot more, which means he has them and therefore Bill should be capable of having them, even as a full demon.”**

Dipper nodded. “Well... that would be it was familiar, I suppose. I’m so used to reading yours I’m practically fluid.” He smiled a little, taking a seat next to Ford and looking at the scroll. “Huh... okay... I wonder how that works...”

**“If this is true he’s just suppressing everything like a human can, he’s been doing it for ages so it’s not going to be easy to make him stop acting like that, but you’ve done it once...” Ford said.**

“Yeah... it’ll be harder this time, but I mostly know what works..” he agreed slowly, sitting and just thinking for a few minutes. “What do you know... about controlling your dreams?” He asked, finally.

**Ford frowned a little. “As tempting as it is, trying to have lucid dreams you can control is not something you should do all the time, Dipper, it doesn’t let you get enough rest...” Of course, if he used Bill’s power it would be different, but Ford didn’t want Dipper to get used to having that, he was afraid the power would corrupt him.**

“I wouldn’t do it all the time if I did,” he said, staring off into space. “I was just... Bill watches my dreams, the spell pretty much makes him, so I was just... thinking...”

**“Oh... I see, yes, that could work... I know a few techniques I could teach you, as long as you promise me you won’t do it too often,” Ford said and stood up. “Come, I have a few books about it in the lab.”**

“I won’t. Maybe once or twice a week,” Dipper promised, smiling a little- he’d gone days without adequate sleep, he could sacrifice a couple nights a week. Standing, he nodded. “Alright,” he said, a little hopeful, as he followed Ford back to the lab.

**Ford went down to the lab and returned with a couple of books on the topic. “Here, it will take practice, but I’m pretty sure you won’t have too much trouble with it,” he said and gave Dipper the books.**

Dipper took the books, nodding a little and reading over the back of one. “This should work really well. Thanks, Ford!” He set the books down to hug him tightly.

**Ford hugged Dipper back and smiled. He was glad that he had given him a little bit of hope. “First you need to eat something though, Stan is making dinner and he’s worried about you. Did you really spend all day in the lab?”**

Dipper pulled back, nodding a little and picking up the books again. ”... yeah? I do that a lot. All the time before... Bill, actually. You just didn’t notice.” He shrugged a little, smiling. “But I can stay up the rest of the night, I suppose.”

**“Really? I should have been keeping an eye on you more, you need to go out and get some sunlight every once in a while.” Dipper’s days out in the forest didn’t worry him so much, but now, down in the lab, he had been alone all day. Well, with Bill... He didn’t want the demon to try and get in Dipper’s head -metaphorically speaking- while he was vulnerable.**

“I tend to switch between days in the lab and days outside. Which I know isn’t healthy, but, you know. It’s what I’m going to do.” He adjusted the books under his arm, smiling a little.

**Ford huffed a laugh. “You’re too much like me, Dipper.” He wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Ford walked to the kitchen and greeted Stan and Mabel, who were already eating.**

“Yes I am,” he agreed, laughing a little as he was attacked by Mabel. “Dipper! You’ve been gone forever!”

“It was only today, Mabel.”

**“Maybe,”  Stan said. “But it’s not like you’ve been paying that much attention to us since you and Bill started dating.” The old man wiggled his eyebrows and, from behind Dipper, Ford made a gesture to make him shut up.**

Dipper paused for just a moment before smiling and nodding, easily slipping back into the shields that he’d been using for so long. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he hummed, escaping Mabel’s grip and getting his own food.

“It’s okay, Dipper! Things are still good, then?” Mabel asked, sitting down again.

“Yep. Things are fine.” Dipper lies easily, sitting down as well.

**Stan assumed, going by Ford’s gesture, that things weren’t fine, but he would have to ask his brother later since Dipper clearly didn’t want them to know what was going on. “Well, anyway, eat up, come on.” The old man served Dipper a plate and sat down again. They had a nice and normal family dinner despite the tension in the air.**

Dipper laughed a little, taking the plate. “Thanks, Stan,” he said, happily settling down to the meal- the first family one they’d had in a long time. And for a little while, he was able to push Bill from his mind and focus on normal things.

* * *

 

**Once dinner was over Mabel stayed with Dipper to do the dishes. She waited a few long minutes before she finally asked. She had the feeling not everything was okay and Dipper wouldn’t want to talk about it, but she had to ask, it was her duty as the older sister. “So... Why didn’t Bill eat dinner with us?”**

Dipper stopped what he was doing. “Because he is.... currently locked up in a cell downstairs,” he said quietly, going back to the dishes.

**“Oh...” Mabel glanced away from her brother, her shoulders dropping. It sucked, Dipper had been so happy... Had Bill been using him all along? “What... What happened? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but maybe it’ll help...”**

“Remember the ritual we had found?” He asked softly. “Well... we tried it. And now he’s an evil triangle with no memories of the past few months and the only reason I’m alive is because he’s bound to me with a spell.” He held up his hand with the ring.

**“Oh, Dipper...” Mabel stopped what she was doing and pulled his brother into a hug, getting his shirt soaked with water and foam. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to give him back his memories. I told you not to try that ritual if there were consequences, why did you lie and say there were none?”**

“Because... because I didn’t want you to worry any more than you already were, I guess. The ritual was going to happen no matter what,” he said softly, hugging her back.

**“We could have tried to convince him not to do it together!” She couldn’t understand how Bill had been okay with doing it if he knew something like this would happen. She felt like the demon had been way too selfish and yeah, in the past she would have expected that of him, but now? It disappointed her.**

“I did my best, Mabel! He wasn’t going to stop, he was going to do it with or without me, I’m glad I was there to take over when things spiraled out of control!” He shook his head, looking away and closing his eyes to steady his breathing.

**Mabel gulped and patted Dipper’s back a couple of times. “Sorry, bro-bro... I know you did everything you could, I’m sorry...” There was no point in thinking about the things that could have gone better, what was done was done now. “I want to help, is there anything I can do?”**

Dipper let out another breath. “It’s okay... it’s okay, Mabel, I know...” Shrugging, he went back to the dishes, hoping to finish them this time. “We’re testing a couple theories- we think he can feel emotions, and if I can break him down to that point again, getting him back won’t be that hard. Ford and Fiddleford are looking into the memories. I’m going to see about learning how to lucid dream to help.”

**“Mmm... Well, maybe I could work on a scrapbook, I have plenty of pictures from the time he spent in the shack, maybe that will help like it did with Stan!” Mabel really wanted to try and help, she wanted Dipper to be happy again.**

Dipper couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure, Mabel. That would be really great. If it doesn’t help, I can just keep it.”

**Mabel grinned. “I’ll start working on it right away!” It wouldn’t be the first time he stayed up all night for something like that. “Oh and if you feel lonely in Bill’s room by yourself you can always come back to the attic,” she told him and then she finished with her part of the dishes and headed to the room. She really hoped things would be okay soon.**

“Don’t put your heart and soul into this, Mabel,” he warned. “There’s a chance he’ll destroy it. And... thanks. I might take you up on that pretty soon.” Smiling a little- Mabel always made him feel better- he finished the dishes and moved to the kitchen table to start reading.

 **_Hey, kid, I’m bored,_ ** **Bill said in Dipper’s mind. The other had been gone for too many hours and he didn’t like not having the Pine Tree for his entertainment, even if he could be a pain most of the time, it was still something.**

 _Hi, bored. I’m Dipper._ He responded, smirking a little as he continued to read. The book was surprisingly interesting and easy to follow, with a little practice he could probably get the hang of it by the end of the week.

 **_Seriously? I thought you had a slightly better sense of humor,_ ** **Bill said and rolled his eyes.** **_I had an idea, maybe you could let me control your dreams for tonight? That way they won’t be so boring. I could give you something you’d enjoy..._ **

_I’m not stupid, Bill, it’s a horrible idea to let you have control of my dreams,_ he responded, making a small note for when he tried that night. _Thought you were smarter than that._

 **_Well, asking never hurt anyone._ ** **Bill sighed and started drawing on the wall with his claw. Just random stuff, nothing useful, Dipper wouldn’t let him try anything fun anyway.** **_Shouldn’t you be sleeping already by the way?_ **

Dipper glanced at the clock, yawning softly. _Yeah, I suppose._ Standing, he picked up the books and went to get ready for bed. Dressing and climbing into Bill’s bed, he yawned softly. _Good night, Bill._

 **Bill sighed and closed his eye, simply getting ready to be pulled into Dipper’s dreamscape once he fell asleep.** **_Sweet nightmares, Pine Tree._ **


	3. Bad Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They take a walk, Bill behaves a little and then things get bad... really bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING this chapter gets dark people, read the tags.

Dipper practiced for a short while that night, before going to sleep. That night was more memory then dream; the day they had spent in his hideout in the woods, discussing stars and constellations. Most of the words were silent, unimportant, but certain things were clearly. Bill’s laughter, for starters. Dipper’s assurance that his feelings wouldn’t change.

**_Ugh, this is pathetic..._ ** **For Bill it was just a dream, he had no way to tell the difference. He really had fooled Pine Tree once, hadn’t he? He only needed to figure out a way to do it again... even if Dipper Gad the advantage, he would be the one laughing in the end.**

Dipper woke slowly, with a soft smile, eyes still closed as he bathed in the warm feeling of a good night sleep, a nice memory turned dream.  _ Morning _ , he thought at Bill, sitting up finally.

**_Morning, kid, do you regret not letting me mess a little with your dream? I could have made it a lot more interesting! T_ ** **hat dream had been way too sweet for his liking, it made him sick.**

_ No. Considering that was exactly how it happened in real life, _ he hummed thoughtfully, standing and starting to get ready.

**_Oh, really? Am I supposed to believe that I let myself act in such a pathetic manner?_ ** **Gods, even if it was just an act, had he really needed to go as far as to ruin his image?**

_ Again... I don’t care what you believe. It’s the truth. Exactly what happened.  _ Humming a little, he picked up the second book on dreams and headed downstairs.

**Bill heard the door of the lab open and stood up from the ground, carrying himself and the chains closer to the door of the cell. “Are you going to bother doing more research to ‘save me’, Pine Tree? Is that what you’re gonna do again all day?”**

“Today I’m learning about lucid dreaming, actually,” he said, smiling a little as he took a seat. “And this afternoon I’m going into the woods; apparently, I spend too much time down here. Maybe you can come with. You’re probably bored.”

**“You’re going to let me out?” Bill asked, raising an eyebrow. He knew he wouldn’t be able to enjoy being out, but it was better than nothing at the moment. “And why would you want to lucid dream? I can’t mess with your dreams unless you let me.”**

“Sure, why not? You can’t cause any trouble.” He smiled a little, turning his attention back to the book on the table. “I’ve always been interested, and I’m not doing anything else. Not everything I do has to do with you, Bill.”

**“Sure, sure.” That was hard to believe, considering the whole situation they were in, with Dipper clearly wanting to save him or whatever.**

Grinning, he settled down to finish the book, humming faintly.

**Bill started whistling a random tune after a moment, not realizing that it was the first song Dipper was requested of him.**

Dipper froze, slowly looking up at Bill as he listened.

**Bill finished the song and leaned against the door, looking at Dipper. "What? Something up, Pine Tree?"**

“... that’s the first song I ever asked you to play.” He said simply, blushing faintly and looking down at the book again- not focused.

**Bill frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's just a random song." He rolled his eye. Well, maybe he was starting to remember a few things, it was whatever, it wouldn't change him.**

Dipper nodded. “Right, of course.” He said simply, falling silent again and he forced himself to continue reading, finish the last few chapters of the book.

**Bill looked away from Dipper and laid down to stare at the ceiling. Why had he started with that song of all songs... He didn't want to worry, but he couldn't help it and he could only... wait. He hated waiting to see what happened.**

Now it was stuck in his head, damn, and he was singing the words under his breath without even thinking about it. Finally, he gave up on the book, shutting it. “I’m going to the woods, are you coming.”

**Bill sighed and nodded. "Yes, can't stand being here for another second." A bit of fresh air would be good for him, he would just try to ignore the human.**

Dipper stood, opening the cell door and backing up so the demon could leave. “Will you take us to the woods? Actually walking through the house is going to cause way more problems then I want to deal with.”

**"Is that an order or a request, Pine Tree?" The demon asked as he walked out of the cell, carrying the chains with him. He wished he could get rid of them, but he was sure not even Dipper could, it was part of the spell.**

“See, I could make it an order, but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to push that hard. I can.” He arched an eyebrow, smiling a little.

**The demon thought for a second about resisting, letting the other use an order to stop him from thinking that maybe he was getting to him, but in the end, he sighed and nodded. "Just this time, because you put it like that," he said and turned around to open a rift. "After you."**

Dipper just rolled his eyes. Still smiling that same tiny smile, he stepped through the rift and into the forest, looking around for just a moment to get his bearings.

**Bill stepped through the rift after Dipper and, once he was on the other side, he closed it and followed the human. “Where are we going exactly?”**

Dipper shrugged. ”For a walk. I have nowhere to be, but I didn’t want to stay in the lab any longer.

**“Cabin fever? I wouldn’t be surprised.” The demon had been feeling like he was getting cabin fever as well and being out of the lab felt a lot better.**

“Exactly,” he agreed, sliding his hands in his pockets. Looking around one last time, he set off into the woods, not really caring where they wound up.

**Bill followed Dipper in silence for a while, but after some time he got tired of not hearing his own voice. “Aren’t you going to try and keep convincing me about our relationship?”**

“Why would I waste the energy on something you clearly won’t believe me about?” He asked casually, kicking up a stone along the path.

**That was a good point. “I don’t know, but I’m bored.” The demon really had no idea of how to get rid of that feeling. He couldn’t do anything!**

“That sucks.” He said, nonchalant, and started to whistle softly.

**Bill continued walking in silence for a while until he got tired again. “What do you weak humans do to have fun?” He supposed he wouldn’t lose anything by asking.**

Dipper shrugged. “Read books, play games, go for walks. Discover new creatures and learn about them. Watch tv and draw and write. Hang out with friends.”

**"We are going for a walk and I'm still bored, you really don't need much, do you?" Humans were just too simple, that was it.**

“I’m comfortable being in silence and nature,” he said softly. “This is the only place where it’s peaceful. Where the things that go wrong make perfect sense. Of course, I love it.”

**"What kind of things?" Bill asked just to continue the conversation, but he kept looking around, trying to spot something more interesting than the human that had become basically his master. Gods, he hated to think of Dipper like that.**

“Oh, you know. Storms and falling trees and being attacked by the creatures that either still hate or don’t trust me,” he answered, smiling a little. “Logical things.”

**"I see," the demon replied and fell silent again for a few long minutes before he remembered something. "The other day you took magic from me. What did you need it for?"**

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t realize I was taking it until Ford pointed it out. I was just... playing the piano.”

**Bill frowned and turned around to face Dipper. "You took my magic just to play the piano? And you didn't even notice?"**

“I didn’t know it was a thing I could do- I hadn’t learned anything about it yet. And I wasn’t paying that much attention.” He said defensively.

**Bill let out a sigh of annoyance and then turned around once again and continued walking. "Using my magic to play the piano," he muttered under his breath. "Not only I'm bound to a fucking human, but it's one that won't even use my power right..."**

Dipper rolled his eyes. “I don’t plan on ever using your powers,” he pointed out, falling in step next to Bill. “It was an accident due to a lack of information and won’t happen again.”

**"THAT'S STILL WASTING MY POTENTIAL!" Bill shouted, turning completely red for a second but then the chains tightened around him and he had fallen on his knees.**

He stepped back at the yell, tensing up as he prepared for a fight- and letting out a slow breath as the demon hit his knees instead. “... are you okay?” He asked softly, coming closer and crouching in front of him.

**"I'm fine," Bill said and tried to stand up again. "It's just these damned chains," he complained. "Or you." He glanced up at Dipper. "What is it? You're not going to let me be angry now?"**

“You can be angry,” he assured, coming closer to look over the chains. “I think it just happened because I took anger to mean an attack- it’s what’s kept me alive. But you can be angry. You can have feelings.”

**Bill recoiled at that word. "Don't get your hopes up, I might feel anger, disgust and maybe even joy at times, like when I get the chance to make you feel terrible, but other feelings? You'll get old waiting for me to show such weakness."**

He paused, before... smiling really slowly. “You said show.”

**Bill groaned and covered his eye. "Show, feel, whatever, just don't think you'll succeed on what you're planning, Pine Tree," Bill said and looked up at Dipper again. "Because you can't fool me, I know you're planning something."**

Dipper kept his smile even as he stood, holding out a hand to Bill. “I’m not planning anything.”

**Bill didn't take Dipper hand, he stood up on his own and dusted off himself, still glaring at the human. "I don't believe you."**

“You don’t have to,” he hummed, sliding his hands in his pockets again. “Shall we continue?”

**The demon didn't say anything, just started walking again. He was sulking like he had never before, not that he would acknowledge that he was.**

Dipper bit his lip to hide his amusement, following along as they worked their way deeper into the woods. He almost didn’t notice where they were until it was too late. “Oh... oh, hey, we should turn back.”

**"Why?" Bill asked the other, narrowing his eye at him. He wasn't sure where they were, hadn't really been paying much attention.**

“Because I’m not in the mood for a fight?” He said, completely stopping in his tracks. “They really don’t like me.”

**"Who?" Bill asked and looked around, trying to remember which creatures lived in that area of the Gravity Fall's forest. "You need to be more specific, kid, most creatures don't like you around here."**

“I don’t actually know what they’re called,” he answered, backing up slowly. “They’re these... giant... cat wolf bear things? Not a fan. We should go, hopefully, they haven’t caught my scent yet.”

**"Oh, you're really afraid of those?" Bill laughed. "They are cute!" Sure, they could be killing machines sometimes, but that only made them better for Bill and it really wasn't like they attacked unprovoked. "What did you even do to them?" The demon started looking around to see if he could spot one.**

“Cute and deadly,” he grumbled. “I think I accidentally wandered into a nest? Bothered some sleeping cub-kittens and protective mothers.”

**"Why doesn't that surprise me? You're always sticking your nose it other's business," Bill rolled his eye. He was about to turn around so that he and Dipper could leave when a cub wandered out of the bushes. "Look! We have company, Pine Tree," the triangle said and then encouraged the creature to come closer.**

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Bill, I was lost and made a mistake.” He said firmly, backing up a little as the cub came closer. “Seriously, Bill, we should go.”

**Bill laughed and waved a finger in front of the cub. "Come on, don't be so afraid, Pine Tree," this could definitely turn out to be more fun than the rest of the walk. The little cub approached Bill and started purring. The triangle knelt in front of it and pet it. He was being amazingly gentle with the creature.**

Dipper paused. He didn’t come any closer, but also didn’t back away- that was much gentler than he expected. Then again, he didn’t think Bill had a dislike for the creatures of Gravity Falls; just the humans. So maybe the gentleness made sense. A soft, fond smile broke across his face as Dipper watched.

**"You'll become a magnificent creature someday, maybe even useful to me, little kitten," the demon softly talked to the creature as it rubbed himself against him, purring and enjoying Bill's petting. "You don't wanna harm the scared Pine Tree, don't you? He's stupid, thinks you care enough about him to acknowledge he even exists."**

Dipper felt defensive, instantly. Tension leaked into his shoulders and he shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets to hide the fact that they were fists. Both because of the insults... but more because of the thought that anyone would want to turn that kitten, or any of the other creatures of the forest he loved, into a pawn grated on every single one of his nerves. “They won’t be,” he said darkly, mostly to himself.

**Bill rolled his eye. "If you don't want me to get the kitten on my side then maybe you should try to make it care about you." The demon wasn't sure why he was suggesting that almost helping the other, but really, how did Dipper expect to get the creatures of the forest to like him as well if he didn't even dare to come closer?**

Dipper didn’t expect the help- just like he didn’t expect the creatures in the forest to like him, not counting the few he had close personal contact with. He wasn’t doing this so they’d like him, he was doing it so they’d be safe. Still... it was good advice. Obvious advice. Something he should have been doing already if he hadn’t been distracted. 

His footsteps were eerily silent as he approached, movements easy and graceful as he sank to his knees- like he belonged here, was a creature of the forest himself. “Hey there, you,” he said softly, holding out a hand to gently coax the kitten closer.

**The cub-kitten sniffed the air around Dipper a little and let out a small growl, turning to face Bill again, but the demon didn't show signs that the human was a threat, so eventually, the kitten moved closer to Dipper, hesitantly.**

**"You owe me, Pine Tree," Bill told the other once the cub had gotten used to the Pines' presence and was asking him to be pet as well.**

Dipper was exceedingly careful, gentle, kind as he ran his hand over the kitten-cub’s fur, rubbing its head and back. He seemed to know what he was doing, a knack for finding the perfect places to pet and scratch. “Oh? And what is it that you want?”

**"A bit more fun would be nice... One night with control of your nightmares?" Bill asked though he was sure the other would say no, still he didn't lose much by asking. "I'll make them good for you..." The demon reached for Dipper and caressed his neck. If he had a mouth he would be grinning darkly.**

Dipper didn’t even react at the touch along his neck, seeming to be perfectly relaxed as he continued to pet the kitten. “My definition of good, or yours?” He asked lightly, smirking.

**"Mmm... we can settle by a mix of both?" He knew that if he wanted to be able to do at least a little bit in Dipper's mind he couldn't just go with whatever he wanted.**

“Oh? And what would that entail?” He asked, looking at Bill with bright, knowing eyes.

**"Oh, no, I'm not going to tell you, that would ruin the fun!" The demon stood up and the cub looked at him, then bit Dipper's hand -not too hard, not even hard to leave a mark- and run back into the bushes.**

Dipper laughed a little, pulling his hand back at the bite. “Bye,” he called, standing as well and looking over his hand to be sure nothing was wrong. “Gonna have to give me a little more to go on then ‘a mix of both,’ Bill,” he pointed out. “Especially if I’m giving you control of my dreams for a night.”

**Bill started walking back to the shack. He was tired of walking, but the chains didn't let him float around anymore. "How about I say it like this: I'm going to take something you enjoy and give it a little twist."**

“Only if I retain the ability to wake up and put a stop to it if I need to,” he compromised, making sure no one was home before letting Bill inside.

**"Mmm, fair enough, I won't keep you in the dream, but you won't know it's a dream so you'll wake up like you do from most nightmares when your mind has had enough." The demon could deal with that, he would count it as a victory.**

Dipper hummed thoughtfully, debating on if that was really something he was willing to risk... before sighing faintly. If this was going to work, he had to try and build some of that trust between them again. “Alright. That’s fine with me.”

**Bill jumped a little, feeling a bit of joy since he had finally gotten something he wanted, even if it wasn't much. "Perfect, I won't disappoint you, Pine Tree."**

Dipper shook his head a little. “Right, I’m sure,” he agreed, stopping in the kitchen to read the notes left for him. Ford was meeting Fiddleford, Mabel was in town, Stan was... somewhere nonspecific, so probably a date. The house to themselves for a night. A few days ago, Dipper would have loved that. It was getting late, though, and he wasn’t hungry, so he moved towards the attic- he didn’t want this to happen in their room, didn’t want any possibly bad memories to soil the space. “Well... I’m going to bed, I guess. Go back to the cell, shut the door,” he mumbled.

**Bill did as he was told since he had no other choice, and prepared himself for what he hoped would be a wonderful night. He had a really nice idea, he knew Dipper would hate it, that it would scar him quite a bit and that was what made it so wonderful, so perfect.**

Dipper knew he was going to regret this, wished he hadn’t let himself be talked into letting Bill have control of his dreams that night. It was going to be a mistake. Still, he changed and crawled into his old bed. 

**Bill laid down on the floor or his cell and waited for the moment to be pulled into Dipper's dreamscape. It felt wonderful to feel like he could do more than just watch from the sidelines for once.**

Dipper tossed and turned for a little while before finally settling down to sleep, eyes closing and breathing slowing as he slipped away.

**_Bill decided to start the nightmare as a nice dream. He created a nice setting for a date, out in the woods, under the stars, his human version and Dipper having dinner with a really good and expensive wine. The triangle demon observed and waited for the right moment to make things take a different turn._ **

_ Dipper was smiling and laughing, pretty happy and content as they talked and drank. At one point, he moved closer to rest his head against Bill’s shoulder, taking his hand. _

**_Human Bill poured Dipper another glass of wine and handed it to him. "Drink some more, Pine Tree. Do you have any idea of how hard it was for me to get this?" He said with a grin. "Do you even imagine the trouble I'm capable of going through just for you?"_ **

_ “I imagine pretty difficult, without an ID,” he laughed, taking another sip, enjoying the faint buzz of lightheadedness as the wine went to work. He wasn’t drunk, his tolerance was too high, but he was farther along. “I can.” _

**_"Oh, really? Can you?" Human Bill asked and then Bill started changing things. First, he made Dipper feel dizzier, made him lose focus, feel like he had been drugged, and then the beautiful scenery was gone and replaced with a black and red room in Bill's fearamid._ **

_ “I-“ Oh- oh no no no, he’d felt that, this feeling, someone who didn’t take no for an answer and slipped something into his drink. But Bill..? Bill wouldn’t, he could just ask and.. he was trying to scramble back, away, but his limbs were heavy and slow. _

**_Human Bill pushed Dipper and pinned him to the ground. His eyepatch was gone now, revealing two perfectly healthy eyes, both yellow with slip pupils. The light in the room was pretty dim and there seemed to be shadows moving around, lurking and waiting for the right moment to make a move. Bill himself had changed and in a way seemed to be part of the shadows, or the shadows part of him. "You have no idea, Pine Tree, you really don't know how far I can go to make you mine..." Bill whispered in Dipper's ear as black tentacles wrapped themselves around Dipper's limbs to stop him from moving._ **

_ Dipper fought, as hard as he could; kicked and struggled and thrashed in the tentacles that kept him bound. This wasn’t going to happen, it wasn’t, not again not like this with Bill here and he was begging and sobbing and screaming- and that’s what saved him, in the end. _

The screaming woke him up, sent him clamoring out of his bed, clawing at his skin.

**"NOOOO!" Bill screamed in his cell. He hadn't gotten to do anything! He had had so much planned for the annoying Pine Tree, so many things he seemed to love, waiting, to be ruined, but the human had woken up too soon. Well, at least he had gotten a little bit of entertainment, just a little bit, but it was something.**

Dipper.... was in the closet. He was pressed into the corner, he nails broken and blood trailing in streams down his arms from where he’d clawed at himself. Curled into a tight ball, knees to his chest as he slowly rocked himself and sobbed.

**_Well, that was fun, not as much time as I would have liked, but a deal is a deal, don't worry about falling asleep again, I won't touch your dreams,_ ** **Bill found himself reassuring the human when he noticed the other wasn't going back to sleep. He didn't want to think too hard about why he was doing something like that.**

Dipper was far past the point of coherent answers, pressing his head into his knees and pulling at his hair. His mind was babbling things about  _ no stop too many hands get OFF leave me ALONE stop stop stop stOP STOP!!! _

**Bill frowned a little. What was the human babbling about? The nightmare was over!** **_Hey, Pine Tree, it's done, you're awake, what the hell is wrong with you?_ **

He didn’t answer, for a long time. Easily another hour before he was able to calm down enough- with the help of some pretty bad habits. One of them being hitting his head against the wall until there was blood trickling down his face to match what was covering his arms. Thank god no one was home, he didn’t want anyone to see him like this; anyone human, that is. Dipper stood, slightly shaky, and stormed down to the lab. Nothing had slowed down or stopped, blood still dripping down his fingers from his arms and parting around his eye to coat part of his face, mixing with his tears. Coming to a stop in front of Bill, he balled his hands into fists. “Never. Again,” he growled, voice dark and angry and shaking just slightly with his tears. “Understand? Never. Again. Don’t even ask again.” An order, an actual order, with him throwing everything he had into the spell.

**When the kid walked down into the lab again, at first Bill felt ecstatic. He hadn't thought a simple nightmare would affect the other so much and he was proud of himself. There was a strange feeling in his chest though, it didn't feel nice and the demon tried not to acknowledge. Then Dipper gave the order and it hurt, but he had been expecting that. "Sure, boss," the demon said, rolling his eye. "Geez, you're even more of a wimp that you were at 12 years old," he muttered under his breath and walked away from the door.**

Something in him snapped some careful control that kept his trauma from overwhelming him or turning into a burning anger that could destroy anything in his path. Stalking forward, he ripped open the door, stepping into the cell. “No,” he growled, visibly shaking as he pressed closer, crowding Bill into the back of the cell. “You don’t know anything. You don’t decide what trauma I’ve been through and what is going to affect me like that. You could have done anything else I would have been fine, but no, you had to push, didn’t you? The fact that I’m alive says more about my strength then you’ll ever know. So shut the fuck up.” Turning on his heel, he stormed out of the cell, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it again.

**Bill had a hard time hiding his reaction when the other crowded him against the wall. Dipper had all his power at his fingertips if he wanted to go and use it and the demon, at that moment, feared for his life. He didn't say anything, just waited for Dipper to leave him alone again and tried to forget about the horrible feeling bubbling in his chest. He wasn't sure if it was the spell or something else. Gods, he hated this, hated Pine Tree, hated the damned town... He just wanted to be out! Maybe get some revenge, but the thing he wanted the most really was to just get out.**

Dipper didn’t dare leave the lab yet, not until he was clean. Breath coming in soft little gasps, he dug out Ford’s first aid kit and got to work, wiping up the blood and disinfecting his arms before wrapping them in bandages. Pressing cloth to his head until that stopped too, and pressing bandage pads to his forehead.

**Bill watched the other as he treated his wounds. Why couldn't he made the horrible feeling in his chest go away? What was the human doing to him? He didn't dare to ask at the moment though, not after Dipper's little outburst.**

Dipper sank into the chair at the lab table, trying to steady his breathing. He just... didn’t have the energy to climb the stairs, go back to bed. Folding his arms on the table, he settled his head on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, sorry for being absent for so long, college and work are killing me and I don't really have time to put the chapters together as often :( Hope you like it though, can't really give you a possible day for the next one. - Alga


	4. A Little Bit of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ford and Dipper go on a trip and Mabel uses the power of scrapbooks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? What is this? A chapter? The world might be about to end!  
> Seriously though, I'm sort of done with college now and I have time so I'm going to work of putting this up to date. There's A LOT of RP material to go through since NightWing and I never stopped RPing despite our busy schedule so you're in for a trip if you're still with us! - Alga

**Ford got back home pretty late but he had great news and he couldn't wait to tell Dipper. He knew his nephew was probably sleeping though, so he didn't go to his room to bother him and instead he decided to head to the lab to check on the demon. If he was 'sleeping' like Dipper was then maybe he would be able to try what he and Fiddleford had found out about.**

Dipper had stirred just long enough to grab one of the lab coats kept in the lab, to keep warm, and passed out on the table into a dreamless sleep shortly after returning- didn’t even stir when Ford came down the stairs.

**Ford saw Dipper and frowned a little. He really needed to stop it with the bad habits... They were the same he used to have when he was younger, it wasn't good for him. The old man approached his nephew and gently shook him to make him wake up and go to bed. "Dipper, come on, you can't sleep here."**

Dipper stirred slowly, raising his head out of his arms. He was clean, the bandage was a little red but not too bad. “Hm. Oh. I didn’t... actually mean to sleep down here this time,” he said softly, laughing a little and moving to stand up.

**Ford noticed the bandage and stopped Dipper. "What happened?" He asked him as he helped him stand up. "Did Bill hurt you?" He asked, glancing at the cell.**

**Since Dipper was awake, so was Bill and the demon was quick to wash his hands. "Hey, don't blame me, kid did that himself."**

“Hit my head on the wall,” he said simply. “Nightmare, you know? It was a rough night. I came down for the first aid kit.”

**Ford gave Dipper a concerned look. "Are you okay?" He couldn't remember the last time Dipper had had nightmares that would end with him hurting himself...**

Dipper nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah... Yeah, I’m okay, Ford. I don’t think it’ll happen again.”

**"Alright..." Ford sighed and ruffled Dipper's head. "Go to bed and try to get some sleep, we'll talk in the morning, I think I found something that could work."**

Dipper nodded again, heading towards the stairs. “Can’t wait,” he said hopefully, and slowly made his way back to the attic to finish the night.

Dipper eventually dropped off, thankfully into some pleasant, mindless dream that eased him through the rest of the night peacefully. He slept for several more hours, body and mind demanding rest after the ordeal from earlier. 

**Ford waited for Dipper and Bill to fall asleep again and then he got to work. Fiddleford and he had come up with a theory, that maybe Bill's powers at full strength were repressing the memories of his time as a human in an attempt to 'protect' the demon from what he had always believed to be a weakness: emotions. If they could suppress his powers again then he would go back to normal. Of course, there was no way to take the power from him now and suppressing them inside his body wouldn't work forever, they would resurface, but it would give them time to come up with a new plan. Of course, it had to work first…**

* * *

**Ford didn't have the exact ingredients needed for the spell, but he decided to try it anyway since it would take him at least a week to get the right ones. Of course, while he had hoped it would work anyway, it didn't, Bill was the same asshole demon he had been since getting his powers back. Well, he supposed it was time for a trip... While he tried to get what they needed, Dipper would be able to try and use lucid dreaming, maybe get some progress with that as well.**

Dipper was still in his bed, rubbing his eyes slowly when Ford made his appearance. Nodding slowly, he smiled weakly. “Alright. When are you thinking of leaving?”

**"After lunch, I told Stan already, I think he's planning to close the Mystery Shack for a few weeks. Summer is over anyway and you know we don't get that many tourists during the rest of the year. He knows you could use a break," Ford told Dipper and handed him a plate with two sandwiches for him.**

“Thank god. Yeah, we won’t have anyone till it gets cold enough to start doing tours in the woods again,” he agreed, nodding slowly. “Oh, great, thanks so much,” he grinned, taking the plate and biting into one eagerly. He didn’t even realize he was hungry until right now. “So I’ll see you in a week, then?” He asked once he swallowed. “Or is this a ‘see you in a week’ and it’s actually three type deals?”

**"I'm hoping it will be just a week, but I can't promise anything," Ford said and sat down in front of Dipper with his own sandwich in hand. "You could come with me too, we can leave Bill in the cell, he doesn't need food or anything after all."**

That... that was so tempting. He would love that, just a trip out with Ford, get out of this damn house and away from Gravity Falls. He could still do the lucid dreaming, too, try that. He didn’t have to be here to do that. “I... I could,” he whispered.

**"Of course you could," Ford said and smiled. He felt it would be better that way, being close to Bill didn't seem to be doing his nephew any good and they usually worked better and faster when they were together, it would take them a week for sure.**

“I want to,” he said instantly, finishing off the first sandwich and moving on to the second. “I want to get out for a while- I’m going nuts here, it isn’t good.” Slowly, he smiled, looking up at Ford again. “I’ll need a few minutes to pack, and I want to tell Bill face to face. But I won’t take long.”

**Ford nodded in understanding. "I'll wait, it's just a few more minutes, it won't make a difference," he told his nephew and finished his sandwich. "I really think it will be good for you to get away for a while, don't let Bill convince you otherwise, okay?"**

Dipper nodded. “I... well, I’m going back to.. this..” he waved his hand at the bandages on his head, and the ones around his wrist were just visible when he sleeve fell a little. “I need out. I don’t want to go back, I’ve done well. So., I won’t. I’ll be ready soon.”

**Ford smiled a little. He was glad that Dipper was doing everything he could to stop himself from falling back into the dark pit he had worked so hard to get out of. "I'll wait here, I have my things in the car already." Getting Dipper out of Gravity Falls for a while would be good for everyone, Ford was sure.**

Dipper nodded, getting out of bed and heading for the room he and Bill shared to get dressed and pack- his bag was equal parts his clothing and stuff from Bill that fit him. Adding his journal and wallet, a couple important things that needed to come with, he pulled on his hoodie, situated his hat on his head, out his bag over his arm, and went down to the lab. “Bill,” he greeted simply, waiting for the demon to acknowledge him.

**Bill was in the process of marking the walls of his cell with more symbols, just to spite Ford and maybe Dipper a little as well. When the human called him he looked away from his work and glanced at him. "Morning, Pine Tree. Going somewhere?" He asked when he noticed the bag.**

“I’m taking a trip,” he said simply, tightening his hold on the bag. “For about a week, with Ford.”

**"WHAT? AND I'M SUPPOSED TO STAY TRAPPED HERE FOR A WHOLE WEEK?!" The demon wanted to burn down the place, he couldn't believe this.**

“Yes.” His answer was firm and simple. “I’m still mad at you, or I’d try and find a different solution. But I need to get out and don’t trust you. So yeah, you’re staying here. I’ll be back in a week- if you’re absolutely dying you can still talk to me. And you’ll have my dreams, so.” He shrugged.

**"Oh and I'm the cruel one," Bill muttered and rolled his eye. One week trapped in this damn cell with no company but himself... He fucking hated Pine Tree. "Whatever, have fun, break your skull, I don't care." The demon turned around and went back to craving the symbols.**

He turned to go. ”Oh, Mabel might visit you,” he added with a little smirk. “Be nice, you don’t get to treat her like a punching bag the way you do me. Be yourself, but a nicer you.” Pausing, he sighed softly, moving to gather several books and shove them in the cell. “Read or something. Play with your ball.”

**"You're still here?" Bill asked, clearly annoyed by the other's presence. Great, not only he was locked in a cell, but maybe Dipper's annoying sister would be paying him a visit and he had to treat her right? "Any other orders before you leave?"**

Dipper shrugged. “None that I can think of. See ya.” Satisfied, he went back up the stairs, saying his goodbyes and meeting up with Ford. “All set.”

**"Great!" Ford grinned and headed to the car with Dipper. He had a good feeling about this trip, they would definitely get what they needed, things would start looking up for them once again.**

Dipper laughed a little, following him out and tossing his bag in the passenger seat before sliding in. This would be good, a few days away from this entire mess would help him get his head on straight again.

* * *

**Bill wasn’t talking to Dipper, he wanted the other to know he was offended. Granted, Dipper probably was grateful that he wasn't talking to him... But he didn't care, he wanted the human to feel as ignored as he did. So the demon didn't speak, just played with the ball, read a little, sulked... When Mabel did come to visit him, the demon decided to ignore her as well, since it wasn't like Dipper had told him he had to humor her or anything.**

They’d been out on this trip for a couple days already, and Dipper was already doing much better when he didn’t have to worry about Bill and what he could do and all the things that could go wrong. It was good to be doing something, physically out. 

They’d found a hotel for the night, something out of the way, and after a couple nights of peaceful sleep and some practice, Dipper thought he might be ready to try lucid dreaming. He was already set up in bed, steadying his breathing to calm down and fall asleep just right. 

_ It wasn’t as hard as he was expecting, dozing off and opening his eyes in the same room, with light shadows at the corners, that he usually started when Bill controlled his dreams. “Bill?” He said softly, knowing this was a dream, so he had to be around. _

**_Bill noticed the other was conscious in his sleep, which was surprising, it really hadn't taken him long to get a hold of lucid dreaming. It was impressive, for a human, but the demon was still decided to ignore the other and he wasn't going to tell him that. In fact, he wasn't going to show himself if he didn't have to, Dipper could spend the rest of the night talking to no one for all he cared._ **

_ Dipper rolled his eyes. “And you call me immature,” he laughed, sliding his hands in his pockets. “Come on, I know you're bored, Mabel told me that you aren’t doing anything. Let’s talk.” _

**_Bill just continued to stare from the shadows, arms crossed. What did Dipper want to talk about? Did he want to tell him more nonsense about their supposed relationship? Did he want to yell at him again just because he had wanted to have a little bit of fun? Was he going to tell him he would be gone for another week, leaving him trapped for longer?_ **

_ Dipper shrugged. “Alright then.” Humming thoughtfully, he looked around. “What should I do first? Any suggestions?” He asked teasingly, examining the shadows. “Oh, hey, they’re smaller now. Nice.” _

**_Bill glared at the human. If he continued like this he would have no place to hide. The demon tried to make the shadows bigger again, but couldn't. He had no control over Dipper's mind, not anymore, and he would never have again unless the other said otherwise._ **

_ Dipper paused, looking around. This would be his only chance, really, to not have this kind of shadows clawing at this room. Usually, they were always there, even when Bill took over his dreams. Holding on to the edge of every dream. So he might as well get rid of them now, right? Pretend everything was fine? Eyes skipping from shadow to shadow, he started to get rid of them. _

**_Bill moved from shadow to shadow as well, trying to stay hidden, but eventually, Dipper got rid of all of them, leaving the demon triangle exposed. He didn't look at Dipper though, pretending to be fascinated by the wallpaper or the room._ **

_ Dipper paused. “Oh. Hi there, Bill,” he greeted, coming over to him and smiling a little. _

**_"What do you want, Pine Tree?" Bill finally asked, but he didn't look at Dipper, keeping his eye on the ground._ **

_ “Not a whole lot,” he hummed, reaching out to gently touch his arm. “Are you okay?” _

**_"I'm as fine as I can be, locked in a cell with nothing to do," Bill reluctantly answered and he moved away, not letting the other touch him._ **

_ “Let’s do something, then. Right now,” Dipper said quietly, smiling a little. _

**_"You've made it pretty clear that we have different ideas of what is fun," the demon pointed out and walked around Dipper. He climbed to the bed and made himself comfortable there. "Wasn't me leaving you alone, not bothering you at all, something you had always wanted?"_ **

_ Completely calm, he sat on the edge of the bed, watching Bill. “We had fun before,” he said calmly. “It wouldn’t be that hard to find something else we could together.” _

**_"I was faking, I'm sure," Bill said, his hands clenching and unclenching on the blanket under him. "You simply don't want to accept the truth, I was obviously using you, Pine Tree."_ **

_ “Relax,” he said gently, soothingly. “I don’t think so. I could show you if you’d like,” he continued, smiling a little. _

**_"Whatever you show me will be biased, you realize that, right?" Bill asked, raising an eyebrow. "It will always be your point of view."_ **

_ “I suppose,” he hummed, nodding a little. “But it’s the only point of view you’ve got.” _

**_"Same as having nothing, but if you want to show me so badly, go ahead," the demon said, rolling his eyes. It would mean nothing to him anyway, there was no harm to be done._ **

_ “What do you want to see?” He asked, sliding back on the bed as he was better settled- and closer. _

**_"I don't have a preference, just show me whatever you want."  The demon wasn't exactly interested, he just wanted to humor the human so that he would give up on his annoying hope faster._ **

_ “Alright...” he said slowly, sifting through his memories of them together. Finally, he settled on one.  _

_ It started with their fight- Dipper breaking in the park after their date and screaming until there was nothing left, about what was real and what wasn’t and him needing to know where they stood and to stop calling him pine tree. Bill’s concern and admitting that “I don’t know. I... Mason, I don’t know. I can’t tell either.” The silence that followed until Dipper demanded that they work it out- to be met with Bill’s soft insistence that they do it tomorrow when Dipper could think straight, walking him to the car and taking him home.  _

_ Offering to play for him, the human insisting that Bill needed sleep more than Dipper did, and the decision that he was doing it anyway. Dipper falling asleep and the room melting away to the small one with dark shadows in the corners and a piano. The quiet request, soft music, leaning against the demon as he played. Bill asking to give him a good dream, the room melting into the yard and the water balloon fight...  _

_ Everything shattering into the nightmare that Dipper skipped over instantly... leading to Dipper jerking awake and racing to Bill’s room, him in his coma.  _

_ He ended it there, stopping the replay of his memories. _

**_Seeing Dipper's memories wasn't like Bill had expected. Even if he was seeing himself from the other's eyes he couldn't be one-hundred percent sure that it all had been an act. He knew how limited he could be without his true power. Had he really gone as far as to risk his life just to make sure Pine Tree would be on his side? The demon was left confused, angry, frustrated at himself for not being able to remember his version of the story. Gods, he had looked so vulnerable in that park, way too open for his liking. Why had he allowed something like that?_ **

_ Dipper let out a slow breath, staring straight ahead as he let the silence stretch between them for what felt like hours. “Do you want to see more?” He asked, finally. “Or talk about that? Questions or something..?” _

**_"No, I think that's enough," Bill said and climbed down from the bed. "Now, please-" yes, he was asking nicely, he really didn't want to be bothered anymore- "leave me alone and enjoy your dream."_ **

_ “Alright,” he said softly, watching him carefully. “Have a good night, Bill.” Sighing, he forced himself awake so he could start over, actually get a few hours of sleep of sleep. Rolling over, he curled up again, spotting the clock that blinked a lazy 3 am before going back to sleep. _

**It was just a stupid memory, it wasn't even his own, it was Dipper's. Why had it affected him so much? He hadn't felt like this in ages, since burning down his own dimension really, hadn't seen himself so vulnerable since then. Could it really be that the human had seen him like that?**

* * *

The rest of the night was relatively peaceful, just normal, weird dreams with no meaning. Dipper woke with a faint smile the next morning, still looking tired as he sat up.

**Ford noticed Dipper was in a better mood that day. Getting out of Gravity Falls really seemed to be working for his nephew. "Nice night?" He asked him over breakfast.**

Dipper nodded, smiling a little and taking a long drink of coffee. “I had a lucid dream last night.”

**"Already? Incredible, I never knew of someone that could achieve it in such little time," Ford said, grinning. He was proud of Dipper and he also was really happy for him, since he knew what lucid dreaming meant for the other and going by Dipper's mood, his plan was going well. "How did it go?"**

He brightened at the praise, grinning. It was always nice to get some from Ford, it didn’t happen very often. “About as well as I expected. I showed him some of my memories, struck a nerve or two, so... we’ll see.”

**"Good, good, I'm sure it won't be the last time. The feelings are there, Dipper, you just need to make them come out again," he couldn't believe he had so much hope about Bill Cipher feeling again, but what could he say? If anyone could make that happen, that was his nephew.**

“I’m going to do this as often as I can. Show him the good and the bad. That’s what I did last night, I think it’s the best way. It’s more real,” he explained, finishing his breakfast. It wouldn’t be easy, but it gave him hope. If they could bring the memories back, and the feelings... maybe things could get close to the way they were before.

**"I agree, there's no way Bill would believe a fairytale version of what you two had," Ford said and took the last sip of his coffee. "The other good news is that we're almost done gathering what we need, so we might be able to make it back to Gravity Falls in a few more days."**

“That’s what I was thinking,” he agreed, sipping at his coffee slowly. “Awesome,” he grinned. “We’ll be back in no time. Do you have to do it while he’s asleep?”

**"I'm not sure if it's absolutely necessary, I just prefer to do it that way, so that he can't interfere," Ford explained. He knew that Dipper had complete control over Bill, but he was still wary around him.**

Dipper nodded. “Yeah... Yeah, I get that. He’s... even though I know he can’t do anything, he’s a little...” he trailed off. “Yeah. I understand. While we’re asleep would be easier.”

**"Yes," Ford sighed and stood up, ready to go. "It's just... I'd rather he didn't even try to talk to me." Ford knew Bill could get on his nerves by just talking and that could lead to really bad things. It didn't matter that he had more experience that Dipper when it came to dealing with the demon, it usually came to the point where he couldn't ignore him the way Dipper could, usually his own pride was his downfall.**

Dipper couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, that would be the end of you. He’d say just the right thing and push just the right button and all our work would be undone.” He was teasing, his smile fond as he looked at Ford

**"Unfortunately, that is accurate," Ford said and shrugged. "I'm too old to change now." He was glad Dipper was different than him where it mattered the most.**

“Hopefully it won’t be too much of a problem for much longer,” he said, setting his cup down and stretching his arms over his head.

**"Yes, let's hope so, but the spell is temporary, don't forget that, Dipper. If you want Bill to be back you need to show him that feeling isn't something bad, that he can live with that, even be happy." It was going to be difficult, Ford knew Bill wouldn't believe that unless it came from himself.**

“I know. My plan is to show him the times he has shown emotion and ease him back into that thought process. That, and just being the same person I was when I started- slightly pushy and eager to make him talk.” He laughed again.

**"Let's hope that works. I do have a backup plan, but I still don't think it's the best idea," Ford knew it could backfire and he still wasn't sure how to go about getting what he needed for said backup plan yet.**

“What’s your back up plan?” Dipper didn’t remember learning about that one, just the first plan.

**"Showing him more than just memories, show him that having emotions isn't a weakness, but not just through your eyes, through his own. We could try and get Will, but I haven't really come up with a way to do that yet, I don't know much about him either so he could be a bad idea," Ford explained. "It's just a thought, something we could use if we run out of ideas."**

“I see,” he said slowly, and after a moment he nodded. “I could always... ask,” he said, a hint of... something negative in his voice. “And make him tell me. I don’t want to, I hate doing that, but if it comes down to it, and nothing's worked, and we can’t find anything, I will.”

**Ford gave a small nod.  "I wouldn't want you to do that, but if we get to the point when we don't have another choice..." The old man sighed and rubbed his eyes, then cleaned his glasses. "You haven't been using Bill's power too much, have you?" He had to ask.**

“I try really hard to never use it,” he said firmly, a shudder running through him. “I’ve given a few orders, because I’ve had to, but I don’t... I haven’t just taken his power and done anything with it since the piano.”

**Ford relaxed a little. "Good, it really is better that way," he reminded Dipper. He didn't want him to forget that.**

“I’ve seen how that kind of power corrupts, Ford. I want nothing to do with it.” He smiled a little. “Are you all set?”

**"Yes, let's go," Ford said, smiling a little to try and ease the tension that the topic had created. "We don't want to waste another minute, right?"**

Dipper stood, smiling back. “Of course not, not when there’s important work to be done.”

**"That's my nephew," Ford said and huffed a laugh, then he walked out of the hotel and got back into the car.**

Dipper couldn’t help the laugh as he followed Ford out, a little skip in his step once more. 

* * *

**Back in the shack, Bill couldn't stop thinking about the supposed memory Dipper had shown him, no matter what he did he couldn't get it out of his mind. If other demons had seen him like that they wouldn't have ever let him hear the end of it.**

Mabel popped down to visit again- she made a point of doing it at least once a day for a few minutes. “Hi, Bill!” She said brightly, holding a scrapbook under her arm.

**"Leave me alone, Shooting Star," the demon said, not moving from his current spot in the middle of the cell. He was looking at the wall, trying to leave his mind blank.**

She paused before stubbornly crossing to the cell. “What’s wrong? Usually, you just ignore me, now you sound upset.”

**"I told you to leave me alone." He was doing his best to control his temper because he knew that if he disobeyed Dipper's orders it would probably hurt an awful not.**

“Bill...” she said gently, watching for a few moments and tucking her hair behind her hair. Sighing a little, she held out the book. “I made you this, so here. And I have copies of all the pictures, so I don’t really care if you destroy it.” Smiling again, she slid the book into the cell.

**"I can't destroy it, I'm supposed to behave and treat you right, thank your dumb twin," he found himself explaining, not sure why. He didn't owe her any explanations.**

“Oh.” She frowned for a second before brightening. “Well then, maybe you can look at it! It’ll at least be something to do, and I can answers questions!”

**Bill glanced at the scrapbook and huffed. "Great, another thing to try and convince me that Dipper and I were a couple. Don't bother, I believe that, happy?" Which didn't mean he believed the feelings had been real, on his side, he was still sure he had to have been using the human.**

“But that doesn’t mean you remember. Besides, I have pictures that Dipper doesn’t even know about, so you’d be getting a more complete idea that if you just relied on him!” She grinned.

**"If I agree to take a look at it, will you leave me alone for the rest of the week?" Just a bunch of pictures in exchange for some peace and quiet, it wasn't so bad.**

She hummed, thinking about it for a minute or two. “Alright, I can do that! Bye, Bill!” Smiling again, she nearly slipped up the stairs.

**Bill sighed and once he was alone he opened the scrapbook. He kept his deals, okay? And he was supposed to be treating Mabel right, so if he said he would take a look at it, he had to take a look at it.**

The first picture Bill was greeted with was off his and Dipper’s backs- the human asleep on his shoulder as the demon played the piano. The book was full of pictures like that, domestic ones caught when it was either just Bill and Dipper or just Bill. 

Standing behind the counter in the Shack, spinning some elaborate story for the customers. The pair sitting at the kitchen table heads close together and laughing about something. Dressed up, standing in front of the door on the way to their date. Bill supporting Dipper, clearly exhausted, on his trek up the stairs, still in nice clothes. Bill’s eyepatch in his other eye now, generic pictures of them moving through their lives. Bent over books talking. The last couple in the book were shakier, clearly taken by someone else, not Mabel. The first was the three of them, squished on to the bench as Bill played. The second was just her and him, the smallest, saddest smile on her face as she listened to him play.

**There was that weird and awful feeling in his chest again and he wished he could just burn down the whole thing, but he couldn't, thanks to Dipper. Now it was a little bit harder to believe that maybe he hadn't been acting, after all, why keep up the act when Dipper wasn't even around or was asleep? Then again, he supposed he had been trying to fool everyone and if that had been his idea, he had been right to keep up with it, the pictures where proof that they were being watched.**

* * *

Mabel had already told Dipper that she’d dropped it off, and true to her word, she didn’t come back down to the lab the rest of the week.

“Mabel made a scrapbook,” Dipper chuckled, reading the texts on his phone.

**"Really? That's a brilliant idea, it'll show Bill that it's not only your point of view what makes you two look like a couple," Ford said, laughing a little. "Let's hope he doesn't destroy it."**

“Right?” He laughed, flipping through the images of completed pages that had been shared with him. His smile grew soft, fond. “She was around a lot more than I thought, to get some of these.”

**"I know Stan also took a few, but you two never noticed because you were too focused on each other," Ford explained. He really had never seen Dipper as distracted as when he and Bill were together, it was like he only had eyes for the demon. It had worried him back then and it still did, but not as much.**

“You can tell the difference, Mabel is clearly more comfortable with a camera,” he commented, saving most of them to his phone. He supposed that was true, there were days where he couldn’t remember anything else but what he did with Bill, he was so completely distracted by the demon.

**Ford just smiled and continued driving until they reached their destination. "Alright." He parked the car and got out. "There's a fairy village in this forest and they have the kind of memory dust we need, the problem is, they don't really like me," Ford explained and grabbed a butterfly catcher from the backseat. "So, are you ready to steal from the fairies?"**

Dipper arched an eyebrow, laughing a little. “Isn’t that really dumb and kinda dangerous?” He pointed out, still chuckling as he slid out of the car.

**"Yes, but we really have no other choice. Trust me, Dipper, they won't give it to us in exchange of anything," Ford grabbed a few bags with instant spells, just in case, and handed some to his nephew. "It's an adventure, Dipper, remember?"**

“They might give it to me,” he said, trying to smother his laughter as he took the bags and hooked them on his belt. “Of course it is, Ford.”

**"No they won't, they'll know we're family, but if you want to try and ask them nicely, be my guest." Ford chuckled. He was pretty sure that would end with Dipper being chased by the fairies, but if he really wanted to try, then he couldn't stop him.**

“Hey, if you’re really sure it won’t work, then I’ll trust you. I always do.” He smiled a little, putting one of his hands in his hoodie pockets. “Let’s go steal some dust from some fairies.”

**Ford grinned. "That's the sense of adventure I'm looking for in my nephew." He ruffled Dipper's hair and then drove into the forest.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let us know if you're enjoying the story so far! I might post one or two more chapters today c: - Alga


	5. Dr. Jekyll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get a break.

**Bill was getting restless in his cell. It had been more than a week already, Ford and Dipper had had a minor setback with the fairies and that had put them two days behind schedule. The demon had no idea about that and he pretended not to care exactly about what had happened, only about the fact that Pine Tree was late and he was tired of being a prisoner.**

The setback had put them behind, but now they were back on the road. Dipper was in the back this time, already getting some of the ingredients ready. “Where are we?” He asked, carefully measuring out the dust, easily moving with the motion of the car to stay steady.

**"Close, we should be back in half an hour or so," Ford said as he took a turn to get the road that would lead them back to their beloved town.**

"Awesome," he hummed, stopping his movements for the turn before finishing up quickly, sealing the containers and putting them away again. Sitting back, he looked out the window, watching the familiar scenery flash past. The break was good, but it was just as good to be back. "I missed this place," he said finally, as they approached the Shack.

**Ford sighed and nodded. "Me too, no matter how many times I leave, I can't get used to it." He chuckled and parked. "And I was gone for 30 years!"**

Dipper got out of the car, resting his hand on the top of the door for a few moments as he looked at the Shack. "I don't think I'll ever really get used to coming back."

**Ford smiled fondly at his nephew and patted his back a couple times. "It's always extraordinary, isn't it?" He said and then walked into the house. "Do you want to check on Bill before we try the spell or would you rather go and take a nap now?"**

"I'll go check on him first," he decided, shouldering his bag and handing what he had made to Ford. Following him into the house, he set his bag on the stairs heading up before going into the lab. 

"I'm home," he called, stepping into the lab and smiling at Bill.

**"Took you long enough, do you have any idea how bored I was?" Bill stood up from where he had been laying on the floor, literally counting the atoms that formed the ceiling. "Can I get out now?"**

"Judging from your tone, I'd say really bored," he hummed, coming over to the cell. "You can in a little bit, okay? Promise. I'm going to get some sleep first, I wasn't doing enough of that on the trip. And I'd rather not take you out somewhere and have us both pass out." He smiled again, chuckling softly as he rested his hand on the cell.

**Bill crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted to get out now, but he had no way to bargain so he just kept quiet. "Sure, go rest that weak mind of yours." He hoped the other would have nightmares, those had been lacking lately.**

"Just another hour or so, okay? Then we can... I don't know, go to the woods or something. I'll give you a little more freedom." Turning to go, he headed for the stairs. "See you soon, Bill!" He called, before disappearing through the door and nodding at Ford. "Give me fifteen minutes," he hummed, before heading for his bed.

**Ford nodded and waited for Dipper to fall asleep, then he got to work. This time, if it didn't work, he would be truly disappointed, he didn't want to fail his nephew...**

Dipper let himself drift off, curling up in a little ball as he slept. It wasn't really long enough for any real nightmares, just the beginnings of one, screams and fire inside endless darkness before he woke up to his alarm going off. There... he'd given Ford a solid hour of time to work, hopefully, that was enough. Hopefully, that worked.

* * *

**Bill woke up slowly, with a terrible headache. The last thing he remembered was his argument with Dipper by the statue. They had been about to do the ritual... Had it worked? The demon looked down at himself and sighed in relief. He was in his original form, so it had to have worked. He snapped his fingers to shift to the human form Dipper was so fond of once again, but he found out he couldn't. It was only then that he noticed the chains and that he was in a cell.**

Dipper sat up slowly, giving himself just a couple minutes to prepare- it was equally likely that it didn't work as t was that it did, and he needed to be ready for that option. Sighing slowly, he got up, stealing another one of Bill's shirt and pulling it on over his before slowly making his way down to the lab. "Bill?" He called softly, stepping into the room.

**"Mason?" Bill called him and walked closer to the door. He was in Ford's lab, he could see that now... and Dipper had activated the spell. Damn the Axolotl, something had gone wrong, right? Dipper wouldn't have done that to him if that hadn't been the case... Or at least the demon wanted to believe that.**

"What... what do you remember?" He asked, steadily making his way closer to the cell, looking a little hopeful as he inched his way across the room. He had called him Mason, that.. was an excellent start. Much better than where they were a couple weeks ago. He stopped next to the cell, not quite close enough to touch it.

**Bill sighed and rubbed his eye. "Our fight... What happened?" He asked the other, hoping that he would fill in the blanks. "Something went wrong?" The demon looked down at his hands, at the shackles keeping him tied to the chains that had his power locked up.**

Dipper loosened his control a little, giving Bill some of his freedom back. Mainly just shapeshifting and the ability to make things out of thin air, small things. "Yeah... I mean, the ritual worked, but... You didn't remember anything, tried to kill me pretty much on sight. And you've been here ever since. I was... heh, I put a lot of effort into trying to get you to remember. To trust me again. But I don't think this spell that we're using to get you to remember now is going to last..."

**Bill felt like he had access to part of his power once again and he tried to use it to shift, but nothing happened, it was like something else was blocking it. "What did you do exactly? To get me to remember?" The demon asked, reaching for Dipper's hand through the door.**

Dipper reached out and took his hand, squeezing gently. "I.. talked a lot," he started, watching him for a few moments, just... looking. "And I learned how to lucid dream so that I could show you memories, ones that my dreams didn't show. And.." he chuckled softly. "Mabel made you a scrapbook."

**Bill shook his head. "You said you used a spell." That had to be the thing stopping him from using his powers even though Dipper was allowing him, right? Bill wanted to understand the connection, why a spell to block his powers would give him back his memories?**

"Yeah. Why... what's wrong?" He asked, stepping closer to the door and tightening his hold on Bill's hand. Was something going on, had something happened? He didn't think things could get any worse.

**"I can't change, I can't do anything," Bill said, trying not to sound annoyed. He knew Dipper had done the best he could, this wasn't his fault, if anything, it was the demon's... But it was a little frustrating to have his powers at his fingertips and not being able to do anything. The triangle demon took a deep breath, closing his eye for a moment. He needed to stay in control of his negative emotions, who knew what he had made Dipper go through since the ritual. "I'm just trying to understand what you did, I'm not mad," he reassured the human.**

Dipper frowned- there wasn't any reason for that, was there? "I'm sorry," he said gently. "That isn't fair, I don't know why that would have happened. I don't think... The spell was just meant to bring back your memories, it was called a memory potion and everything. I can get the recipe if you want, but Ford performed it while we were asleep."

**Bill rolled his eyes. "Of course he did..." he murmured and sighed. Ford had clearly not told Dipper everything. It was okay though, he would ask him later, there was no reason to make Dipper and his uncle argue, the spell, whatever it was, had worked and that was what mattered.**

"He knew that if he tried to do it while you were awake, you'd provoke him to the point of being pretty useless," he explained with a weak smile. "And I didn't want to use any more orders than necessary. And.." He paused, thinking for a moment. "I had a theory, but it's kinda ridiculous. Just that, if it was the powers that drove away the memories, then it might work the other way around."

**Bill nodded, thinking about that for a moment. "That could be it... I don't understand why a part of me would work against me like that but... I suppose it does make sense." The demon leaned against the door, gaze lowered.  If that was the case then he had no idea how to fix it permanently. "I'm sorry, sapling... I should have listened to you."**

"I don't understand a lot of things about how you work," he said casually, watching him through the door for a few moments. Slowly, he pulled his hand away, unlocking the door so he could enter the cell. "It's okay, Bill," he said gently, softly, opening slowly so that the demon wouldn't fall. "I know how important your powers are to you. You were going to do it no matter what, I'm glad I was there to stop things from spiraling out of control."

**The demon noticed the other was opening the door so he moved out of the way and sat on the floor. He was feeling a little under the weather, he felt like he had failed Dipper, that he hadn't tried hard enough... "Yes, perfect, and now I'm stuck like this until the day you die," Bill pointed out, holding up the chains for a brief second and then letting them drop once again.**

Dipper sat down next to him, taking his hand back and squeezing gently. He looked so... sad, dejected, like so many things were steadily getting worse the longer he talked about it. "There has to be a to release you from the spell," he said gently. "And if we can find a  solution so that you still remember things and have your powers, I'd be happy to. Just... you've been very... murdery lately."

**Bill looked up at Dipper, suddenly realizing something. He had said he had tried to kill him the second he had gotten his powers back, had he... tried more than once? Had he hurt him? "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice showing he was almost too scared to ask. "Is everyone else okay?"**

Dipper nodded quickly, taking his other hand as well. "Shh, shh. Yeah, we're all okay. You couldn't do a whole lot before I said the spell, just scratch me up a little and throw me into a tree. There was some psychological torment in there, but... it's okay. I'm okay, Bill."

**The demon sighed and leaned against Dipper's side. He closed his eye. "I hope it wasn't too bad, I can't believe my luck, just when I thought I had outsmarted that damned Axolotl." But of course he hadn't and he had put Dipper in danger, he had been selfish because that was who he was and no matter how hard he tried to change it just wouldn't happen.**

"... I'm okay," he said again, in response to that hope. He didn't want to actually explain any farther than that. "... So.. This is going to wear off, probably within a couple of days. Any ideas on how to convince the you that's going to come back that feelings aren't bad?" He asked lightly, partly teasing.

**Bill huffed a bitter laugh and shook his head. "Not really... If my power is suppressing my memories because I've been allowing myself to be vulnerable like that, then it's probably a problem with my subconscious and if there's one that's hard to access, that's mine." One of the perks of being a dream demon, his mind was a hundred times harder to crack than most. Right now it seemed to be more of a curse though.**

Dipper laughed, leaning against Bill just slightly. "Yeah, you're right. I've been doing that for months, remember? It was pretty hard even when you had feelings that you couldn't control, it's going to be freaking impossible later." Sighing a little, he folded his hands in his lap.

**"I never thought I'd actually apologize for who I am, but... I'm sorry, Mason," the demon said and turned a little to look at the human. He leaned forward, his eye turned into a mouth for just a moment and he kissed the human's cheek, just a little peck. "I want to tell you I'll figure out a way, but I also don't want to make promises that I don't know if I'll be able to keep," he continued, slumping against Dipper's side, feeling defeated.**

Dipper shook his head a little, laughing at the kiss. "I don't want you to apologize for who you are, Bill. I've said it before and I'll say it again- I like who you are when you aren't trying to kill me. Stubborn lack of emotion and everything." He smiled softly, gently brushing his thumb along the back of his hand, hoping to soothe him some, calm him again. "It'll be okay, Bill," he said softly. "I'll... I don't know, I'll figure something out..."

**"Well, I'll help as much as I can," Bill said since it was the least he could do. "But, could we maybe take an hour or so for us? You look tired, sapling and I have a terrible headache, I'd like to get some fresh air." The demon stood up and stretched. "How long have I been here anyway?"**

Dipper nodded a little, standing as well and running his hand through his hair. "That sounds... really great. A little while for us... You've been stuck here without me for a week, though Mabel tried to keep you company. I went with Ford to gather the ingredients we needed. I, uh... needed a break. Things were touch and go for a little while there." He went to open the door, letting Bill through first.

**"Of course, I can only imagine how I've been treating you..." Bill sighed and walked out of the cell. "Damn, these chains are heavy, I always thought the spell gave metaphorical ones, not something like this," the demon pointed out as he walked alongside Dipper, both heading out of the lab.**

“It’s okay,” he assured quickly, exiting after him. Frowning slightly, he looked at the chains- he hadn’t realized they were real, with weight,  and not just something projection- like. “I... I can try and make them lighter?” He suggested, kicking at one lightly.

**"That would be great, can you do that?" Bill knew the binding sell wasn't easy to control, it required practice. That made Bill wonder exactly how long had passed since they had done the ritual, but he was afraid to ask, so he didn't.**

“I can try,” Dipper said slowly, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes as he focused. He’d gotten pretty good at managing the spell.. but he’d never tried something like this before. Letting out his breath, he cracked open his eyes. “... did it work? I’m not the best at this yet,” he laughed weakly.

**Bill felt the chains get lighter and sort of grinned. Dipper really was good at this, he was impressed. "You know, with enough practice you could really become really good at magic, not anyone has that kind of control over such a powerful spell," the demon praised his boyfriend.**

Dipper smiled brightly. “Thanks! I’ve been avoiding it lately since I’m really hooked into yours. And there’s a real fear of corruption with that.” Reaching out, he took Bill’s hand again, pulling him into the woods.

**Bill slumped a little. "Right, yes, of course." His power wasn't that bad... Sure, if the person controlling it, other than him, didn't have a strong will there was a pretty big chance it would corrupt them, or worse, but Dipper? Bill was sure he could handle it. He wasn't going to suggest it though, with everything that had happened.**

Dipper was facing forward, so he didn’t see the reaction, but continued talking anyway. “And, I mean, I never really planned on using your magic. But I only really took it seriously because you were the one to suggest it in the first place. It didn’t seem worth the risk to find out if you were lying or not.” Once they were in the woods, he stopped, turning to face Bill with a fond smile.

**Bill sighed and rubbed his eye. Of course, he had scared his Pine Tree with something like that. "Yes, my power can corrupt people, drive them insane, sometimes even kill them," Bill explained. "But you're strong, Mason Pines, the chances of that happening to you are pretty slim."**

Dipper nodded slowly, his smile growing a little at the praise. He was always here for kind words from Bill, they filled him with warmth. “You think so?” He said softly, coming closer; never letting go of Bill’s hand.

**Bill rolled his eye. "Of course, don't let this get to your head, but you're pretty impressive sapling," he told him. "I mean, just what you did to me... Do you think anyone can do it?"**

Dipper laughed a little, shifting forward to lightly bump his forward against Bill, just above his eye. “That’s really nice to know. And no, I suppose not.”

**The triangle blushed a little. "Just don't tell anyone that I go around praising you so much," he asked and looked away. "I still have my reputation..."**

Dipper grinned at the blush, stepping back. “I won’t,” he assured. “Really, who would I tell? Mabel, maybe.”

**Bill shook a little. "No, you can't tell anyone, much less Shooting Star, she's already annoying as things are." Though Bill had to admit that he had managed to grow fond of her, he wouldn't admit it.**

Dipper’s smile softened, and he nodded again. “Alright, Bill. If it means that much to you, I won’t tell anyone. Except maybe you, later, once you start forgetting this again.”

**The demon's gaze lowered and his glow got a little dimmer as he was reminded of their problem. "Way to dampen the mood, Pine Tree," he said and continued walking in some random direction.**

“Mason,” he corrected, tightening his hold on Bill’s hand and falling in step with him a few moments later. “... I’m sorry.”

**"It's okay, it's okay," Bill reassured his boyfriend and when he found a spot that seemed comfortable enough to sit on, he stopped and sat down, resting against a tree. "I just want to pretend for a while that things are fine, don't you want that too?" Bill glanced up at the sky and took a deep breath. "I know nothing about this is ideal, but, we could try."**

Dipper wasn’t convinced, but took the assurance anyway and didn’t comment on it again. Just sat next to Bill and let his head rest against the tree. “I do, yeah...” he mumbled, sighing softly. “I am trying. This is trying, for me.”

**The demon caressed Dipper's thigh and moved closer to him. "If I could use my powers I'd do something to distract you." Right now that was the main reason why he wanted them back, to help Dipper relax and enjoy their day out. The demon was sure that just looking like a human again would already be an improvement, but nope, he didn't even have that.**

Dipper shivered slightly, smiling a little and leaning into the demon. He hadn’t realized how much he needed the other’s touch until right now, just how isolated he was without Bill. “You’re doing just fine in this form,” he murmured. “But I’m sorry you can’t access them, I don’t know if there’s anything I can do...?”

**Bill shook his body a little, saying no. "If they are blocked for me they are probably blocked for you too... I mean, I suppose you could try, but don't get your hopes up." Bill glanced up at the sky once again.**

“I’m not even sure what I’d do,” he mused, sighing softly and closing his eyes. Settled back against Bill comfortably. “Except try and use them. Or order you to and see what happens.”

**Bill glanced at the human, his eye widening in shock. The idea of being ordered around right now was simply horrible, Dipper had no need. “No orders, what do you think will happen if you order me and then I still can’t access my power and therefore can’t go through with it? I have the feeling it will involve too much pain for me to handle.”**

Dipper opened his eyes, sitting up quickly. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said gently. “I won’t. I don’t like ordering you to do anything in the first place, I won’t do it now, okay?” He settled a hand against Bill, over the tie. “Promise.”

**Bill relaxed a little once again. “Good, I don’t want to get mad at you,” he said and returned to his comfortable position leaning against Dipper, but this time he took one of his hands in his and didn’t let go.**

Dipper smiled a little. ”Oh, no, we can’t have that happening,” he agreed, happily settling into him again and taking his hand. Squeezing gently, he closed his eyes again, enjoying the moment.

**Bill smiled and kissed Dipper again, then looked up at the clouds in the sky. “What is that stupid game you humans play? Looking for shapes in the clouds?”**

Dipper laughed a little, nodding as he looked up as well. "Yeah, like... See, if you squint, that one looks like a dog."

**"That looks nothing like a dog," Bill complained, but he tried to play along, searching for shapes himself. "Mmm..." Bill pointed at another one. "That looks like a tortured soul!"**

"Sure it does!" He said eagerly, tipping his head a little. "Uh, yeah? Tortured souls look like dragons?" He said teasingly

**"That's not a dragon, have you ever seen a dragon, sapling?" Bill rolled his eye. He didn't know why he expected more from a mortal... Well, probably because Dipper usually gave him more, maybe he had started overestimating him.**

"See, this is supposed to be fun, Bill," he pointed out, moving to lay on the ground instead. "You're supposed to make up complete nonsense based on the shapes you see. I see a dragon- you would see something else."

**"I see... I still think it's pretty stupid, but I'll humor you," the demon said and glanced at the sky once again. "Look, there's you!" Bill pointed at a cloud that sort of looked like a pine tree.**

Dipper looked up again, before bursting into laughter. "Ah heck, there I am. Now we need to find you; I wouldn't want to be up there alone."

**Bill laughed a little and realized that maybe he was actually having fun. "Once I can use my powers again, I'll take you up there for real, would you like that?" He asked, glancing at the human.**

Dipper tipped his head back to smile up at the demon. "I really would, yeah.. That sounds amazing."

**"That will be our first date once everything is in order then," Bill said and drew triangles on Dipper's thigh with his finger.  "And then we can have a picnic looking down at the town."**

"I'll hold you to that," he said with a smile, humming softly and shifting to be a little closer to him. "It sounds pretty amazing."

**"If it's coming from me it's always going to be amazing, Mason," Bill said before looking up at the sky again. "What other things do you do to keep yourself distracted?"**

"I've learned to expect that," he teased, watching the sky once more. "I walk a lot. And draw, or read and write. A lot of outside stuff when it's warm. Things like that, usually."

**"You need to let me read your journals someday..." Bill had been stopping himself from asking, but he really was curious about them, he wanted to see Dipper's work with his own eye.**

"Sure," he agreed, smiling a little. "You can read my journals, Jekyll." He was teasing with the nickname, something silly.

**Bill rolled his eye. "Haha, very funny, Mason," he said, pretending to be a little irritated. He didn't mind all that much, really, but again, he didn't want to be reminded of the fact that they still had to deal with his own Mr. Hyde.**

"Thanks, I'm hilarious," he agreed, squeezing his hand gently after a moment.

**"Keep telling yourself that, it might end up becoming true," Bill said and then he stood up. "Let's walk for a little bit."**

"It already is true," he laughed, standing as well. "Alright, sure," he hummed, falling in step with him.

**"Sure, sure," Bill said, trying to hold back a laugh. The demon had finally managed to get his mind off the current pressing issue they had to deal with and was happy to be enjoying a day out with the human, filled with teasing and light banter. Dipper seemed to be having a good time as well. The demon simply hoped it would last at least a couple of days.**

Dipper was enjoying this, every moment of it. He wasn't worried about the future, or their Jekyll and Hyde problem, or anything. He was entirely focused on the walk through the woods with Bill, the warmth and the smiles, the laughter and touches, shared between them.

**Eventually, Bill got tired of walking and stopped to lean against a tree. If he had been smaller he would have asked Dipper to carry him, but he couldn't even alter his size so that was out of the question. "Damn, walking in this form really isn't the best idea." His legs were shorter, he knew there was a reason why he preferred to float everywhere.**

Dipper paused, shaking his head a little. "I'm sorry, that must really suck," he sighed, stopping next to him so he wouldn't have to let go of Bill's hand. He assumed he couldn't float because of the no-access-to-powers thing, but he wasn't completely sure; not that he was going to ask and bring it up again. "Too bad I don't have a wagon, I could just pull you around," he laughed.

**"I don't think that would be comfortable," Bill pointed out and pulled Dipper down so that they could sit down again. "We should head back in a bit, it's getting dark." Bill also had no idea how long the spell would last, he didn't want to be alone with Dipper when the effects wore off, he didn't want to hurt him, not even if it was just emotionally.**

"Hmm... Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed, happily dropping to the ground to sit next to Bill. Glancing around, he nodded. "In a few minutes," he murmured, not really caring that much about being stuck in the dark. He was certainly used to it by this point. And the spell should last at least another day.

**"So..." The demon felt it was time to address the issue again, he knew that once they got back to the shack everyone would want to ask questions and him and Dipper would barely have time to talk about this in private before they had to go to sleep and the demon ended up locked in the cell again. "Have you and Sixer come up with a plan B in case convincing me with scrapbooks and memories doesn't work?"**

"Ford has one," he said slowly, thinking back. "It's not a very good one. Something about showing you that having emotions isn't a weakness through your own eyes. Trying to get Will. And I'm not really sure how we would do either of those."

**"Oh... that could... If I saw Will and he was doing fine even with how damn sentimental he is... Maybe it could work." Then again, the last time Bill had seen the other demon had been ages ago and he hadn't heard much after that. "But there's always a chance he might be doing worse than me, he could be a mess, I know he was the last time we saw each other."**

Dipper nodded, thinking about it. It could work if they played it right. Even if Will was a mess... "I could help him, too, and you would be able to see him, possibly, improve.." He said slowly, leaning closer to the demon so he could touch- that's all, he just wanted to brush his fingers along him slowly, start to familiarize himself the same way he had with Bill's human form.

**"Getting him will be really tricky though, if the rumors I heard are true then he's also bound." Bill watched Dipper for a long moment, amused by the other. "If you're trying to get a reaction out of me it's not going to be easy, this body isn't built for that," he explained and took Dipper's hand in his.**

"I wonder to whom," he mused, blinking slightly as he looked up at Bill. Slowly, a grin spread across his face. "Aww, Bill, that wasn't even my intention!" He teased. "I just like touching you, and I don't have this form memorized, not like your human one."

**_To you,_ ** **Bill thought, but he didn't say anything, he didn't think Dipper had to find out about that, not unless it was absolutely necessary. "Alright," the demon chuckled and placed Dipper's hand back where it was before. "You can explore all you want, I won't interrupt," he said, then laid down on the ground and closed his eye, pillowing his body on his arms.**

_ How do you breaking a binding spell, _ he thought, thinking back to everything he knew about it. Never once did Ford tell him what to do if things worked out, and that was going to be a problem. Especially if Will was bound, too. "Why thank you," he hummed with a grin, continuing his trek across the triangle body before him.

**If anything, Dipper's touch helped the demon relax and he ended up falling asleep, something he had no idea he could still do, not on his own. He had a pleasant short dream that involved Dipper and a picnic somewhere out of Gravity Falls. He wasn't bound to anything anymore, not to Dipper, not to the town... he was truly free and he wanted to spend that freedom with the human.**

Dipper paused, watching Bill slowly fall asleep, and the softest smile crossed his face. Drawing out his phone gingerly, not wanting to wake the demon, he snapped a picture. That could be one more than convinced Bill later when this wore off. Sighing softly, he sat back to watch him, folding his hands in his lap. "Damn, Bill," he mumbled.

**The demon woke up a few minutes later to complete darkness. It took his eye a second to get used to that but soon he could clearly distinguish everything around him, including Dipper. "Did I really fall asleep?" He asked the human, turning to lay on his side to face him.**

Dipper smiled slowly, nodding. "Yeah, you did," he said quietly. "For about fifteen minutes or so, I'd say. Was it a nice nap?" He asked in return, laying down next to him and propping his head upon his hand.

**Bill huffed and nodded. "It was a great nap, sleeping can be really nice when there are no nightmares involved." The demon moved closer to the other and kissed his cheek before standing up. "If we don't get back soon Ford will start assuming the worse though."**

Dipper nodded, smiling wider. "Yeah, I know how that feels," he agreed, chuckling a little and moving to drop a kiss near his eye. "Yeah, you're right. He always does." Standing slowly, he offered a hand to Bill.

**Bill took Dipper's hand and together they walked back to the shack. "Do you think maybe I could eat something? I don't really need to, but I like eating, even more so if I don't produce waste afterward."**

Dipper squeezed his hand tightly, chuckling. "Sure, you can. What are you in the mood for? What sounds good?"

**"Anything, I'll let you surprise me," Bill told Dipper. He didn't want to human to go to too much trouble for him, anything would be fine.**

Dipper hummed a little, leading him into the kitchen. "Alright... I'll make something you haven't had yet!" Grinning, he got to work, dragging out ingredients and starting to cook. It took a little time, but soon enough he was setting a plate of chicken alfredo in front of Bill. "Enjoy!"

**“This smells really good, sapling,” Bill complimented Dipper’s cooking and sat down to eat. He tried some, his eye turning into a mouth to allow him to eat.**

"Thank you," he smiled, leaning back against the counter. 

**It was right then that Mabel walked into the kitchen, the sight freaking her out a little bit. “Okay... he’s back to ‘normal’ then?” She asked Dipper in a whisper, though Bill could obviously hear her.**

Glancing up, he came over to stand next to Mabel. "It's... uh, temporary," he said simply, sighing a little. "We don't have a permanent solution yet."

**“Oh...” Mabel’s shoulders dropped. She had hoped everything would be fine now, but of course, they weren’t so lucky. “I’m sure you guys will figure it out,” she reassured Dipper as she continued to stare at the demon eating with a weird look on her face.**

**Bill noticed the staring, of course, and he stopped eating for a moment to look up at the twin. “I know I’m not well versed in the human ways or anything, but isn’t it considered rude to stare at people when they are eating?”**

"Yeah," Dipper murmured, sighing softly as he looked down. Every time he thought about it, he lost a little more hope. "We have a couple ideas, but I'm... not too sure." Pausing, he looked up again and laughed, gently pushing Mabel. "God, Mabel, how could you?" He teased.

**“I’m sorry! It’s just weird... Why is he still a triangle?” She asked, glancing at her twin to stop herself from staring again.**

**“I’ll have you know that Dipper is very into geometry,” the demon replied, teasing.**

Dipper rolled his eyes, ignoring him. "He can't change back. He doesn't have access to his powers and we have no idea why," he explained, before turning back to Bill. "But yes, you are very attractive."

**The triangle blushed a little. He hadn’t been expecting the compliment. He focused back on eating then, letting the twins talk as they pleased.**

**Mabel had her eyes narrowed and her head tilted to the side as if trying to figure out something. She turned to face Dipper again. “How does that work..?” She asked but then she immediately regretted it and shook her head. “No, you know what? I don’t want to know.”**

Chuckling softly, the silence let Dipper turn his full attention back his twin. “Good, because I don’t have an answer,” he hummed, shrugging a little. ”It really sucks, though.”

**“Understatement of the century,” Bill commented and then went back to eating. Usually, he wouldn’t mind, but over the last 6 months, he had learned about all the advantages that having a human body had and he missed them. Sure, the disadvantages sucked and Bill never wanted to go back to being fully human, but yeah, a human form would be appreciated.**

**“I bet,” Mabel said, feeling sorry for the couple. “But you guys are geniuses, you’ll figure it out.” She smiled and then glanced at the rood Bill was eating. “Is there some for me by any chance?”**

“Thanks, Mabel. Dipper grinned, nodding to the stove. “I made enough for a small army, help yourself,” he said, moving closer to Bill to lean against him slightly. “So I got an idea,” he murmured to the demon. “Something that might help me later.”

**The demon hummed a little and glanced at Dipper. “My interest is piqued,” he said and then e grabbed a forkful of food and offered it to the human. “We can talk about it later though, you should eat as well.”**

"Later is good. Don't let me forget, though." Leaning down slightly, he took the bite with a satisfied hum. “Alright, I will,” he said, moving to get his own plate and claim a seat next to his demon.

**The demon caressed Dipper’s cheek and smiled a little with his eye before turning to eat once again. Mabel joined them at the table and, while it was a little awkward, they had a family dinner.**

The meal was mostly silent, but Dipper enjoyed it, the peace and the slight awkwardness between the three. It felt real and he loved it.

**When Mabel was done she washed her plate and, before leaving, she turned to face Dipper. “Are you staying in the attic again today or..?”**

**Bill looked away, his expression a little sad. He wanted to spend the night with Dipper, but he knew it was for the best if he went back to the cell, just in case.**

Dipper paused before shaking his head. “No, no... probably not,” he hummed, smiling a little. “I’ll stay down here tonight.” They should lock Bill up in the cell since they had no idea when the spell would wear off, but... he really wanted to spend more time with him.

**“Cool.” Mabel smiled and glanced at Bill. “You hurt him and I’ll kill you,” she warned him and then she headed upstairs, leaving the couple alone.**

**Bill faced Dipper and sighed. “Are you sure it’s a good idea? I want to spend time with you as well, but...” He looked away. He really was afraid to hurt him.**

“Well... yeah. One, I need you for my idea,” he started with a small smile. “Two... you can’t physically do anything to hurt me, and you’ve already done the worst you can emotionally. Besides... I’ve missed you. I’ve missed talking to you and touching you.”

**The demon didn’t like to hear that he had already hurt Dipper that bad... he didn’t dare to ask exactly what had happened and he had the feeling Dipper wouldn’t want to hear about it. “Alright. If you’re so sure...” The demon smiled with his eye and then kissed the human’s cheek. “But if anything goes wrong you have to promise me to lock me once again.”**

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he murmured, taking Bill’s hand and squeezing tightly. “I promise. I won’t let anything happen or get too far.” Smiling a little, he nuzzled close to kiss just below his eye. “Let’s go down to the lab, okay? We can build a blanket nest and spend the night together. And do my plan.”

**“Sure thing, sapling,” Bill said and climbed down from the chair to follow hoy boyfriend to his room so they could get blankets. “Are you sure you’ll be comfortable down there? Pillows and blankets are not the same as a mattress.”**

“Considering the fact that I commonly fall asleep on the lab tables down there, I think this is a bit of an improvement,” he laughed, grabbing some blankets and handing them to Bill before getting more and some pillows.

**Bill took as many pillows and blankets as he could and then headed downstairs to start preparing everything while Dipper got more. He almost tripped on the way down, the blankets covering his eye, but he managed not to.**

Dipper followed a few minutes later, pillows and blankets in one arm, two mugs carefully balanced on a plate in the other- he’d been a waiter during college to help pay. “I brought hot chocolate, too!” He beamed, dropping the blankets and pillows and setting the mugs on the table.

**“I really don’t deserve you, Mason,” Bill said and then helped Dipper to make the blanket nest even better. The cell looked a lot more comfortable now and just having Dipper there made Bill felt better about needing to stay the night in there.**

“I could say the same thing,” he hummed softly, adjusting some things before picking up the mugs and joking Bill in their fort. “Here you go,” he hummed, handing one over.

**Bill grabbed the mug and took a sip. “I had been looking forward to trying this,” he told Dipper and made himself comfortable next to the human. “I really like Gravity Falls during the colder months, there are way fewer people to deal with and the few that stay tend to get desperate enough about not having anything to do that they make deals for the first thing that comes to their mind.” The demon laughed and took another sip.**

“Hopefully mine meets your expectations then,” he hummed, smiling a little. Laughing a little, he shook his head, digging his phone out of his pocket. This was the perfect position, the perfect place and time, for what he had in mind. An unbiased view, while Bill was under orders not to lie to him. “That sounds just like you.” Sighing softly, he let the comfortable silence stretch for a few minutes. “So... my plan,” he said quietly, a little urgent because he didn’t know how much time he had left. “Is to record us. And to ask you questions to show you later. Is that okay?”

**“Oh! That’s a really good idea, I can’t believe I didn’t think about it.” Bill nodded and glanced at Dipper’s phone. It really sounded like something that could work, or that at least would make more impact than pictures. “Let’s do it, ask me anything, sapling.”**

Dipper sat forward, setting up his phone so it could record and catch them both. “Friendly reminder to anyone watching in the future that I’ve previously ordered you to never lie to me,” he said calmly, before settling back into the demon. “So.. Bill. Have you been doing this just to trick me?”

**“Wait.” Bill frowned a little. He had been ready to go through with this, but the human’s words caught him by surprise and he wasn’t sure how to feel about what he had just learned. “You ordered me to not lie to you?” He knew that considering the circumstances it was a reasonable order, but that didn’t mean Bill liked it any better.**

Dipper paused, looking up at the demon and smiling sadly. “Yeah... Yeah, I did. I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out when you were telling the truth and when you weren’t. And you were using it to manipulate me like people do when they lie. But things were getting really bad, so... it seemed like the simplest way to stop a lot of bad things that were happening.” He stopped. “I didn’t want too, I really hate ordering you to do anything.”

**Bill crossed his arms and looked away for a moment. He knew he was the only one to blame for that, if he hadn’t been so desperate to get his powers back then Dipper wouldn’t have ended up in a situation where he had to do such a thing. It e still didn’t like it. He hadn’t been planning on lying to Dipper while he was ‘back’, but what id he had to for some reason and couldn’t? He hoped that wouldn’t come to pass. “Alright,” the demon sighed, took a deep breath and turned to face the camera. “I...” Bill struggled a little to answer, not realizing he was fighting against the truth. “I did,” he finally replied. “At first...”**

Dipper bit his lip, looking up at Bill with obvious worry and concern. He didn’t... he knew Bill wouldn’t like it, but honestly, he needed to know that he could believe what came out of the other Bill’s mouth. It was what made things easier for the past few weeks. “Sorry,” he said gently, shifting a little so he was no longer pressed against the demon- surely, Bill wouldn’t want that anymore? “Right, sorry, I should have phrased that better. I know you were for a while, that was the entire relationship. Up until our date, that’s what I thought. But later?”

**Bill closed his eye and rubbed it a little. Why did he have to start with that question? Why now when he couldn’t lie and make things easier for him? “Dammit, Pine Tree...” The demon glanced away and fidgeted with the sheets a little. “No, I was still thinking about using you back then,” he muttered under his breath. “It took longer than you think to get that idea out of my head.”**

“So tell me when,” he tried, wanting to make this easier. To make it make sense because he knew his questions weren’t getting to it the way he wanted. “Walk me through it. Because you aren’t now, right?”

**“No, of course not!” Bill reassured the other and finally looked back at him. “It did take me quite a while though... I can’t remember exactly when I changed my mind, but I asked you to move to my room because of that.” The demon sighed and took Dipper’s hand. “I know you’re probably disappointed...”**

“Why would I be disappointed?” He asked gently, slowly moving closer again. “I don’t care when it happened, Bill, when you decided that. Just that you did.” Letting out a little breath, he shook his head to clear it. “I had more questions!” He laughed. “Uh.. what else do you think you should know? While I remember my questions.”

**“Mmm...” The demon thought for a moment, leaning against Dipper and taking a sip of his hot chocolate. “Sex is good,” he said and laughed. “I always thought it was a meaningless act that inferior beings had to go through to preserve the species, but it’s more than that, I was wrong, as much as I hate to admit it.”**

Dipper snorted, resting his head against Bill as he nursed the warm liquid. “Yeah, sex is pretty great,” he agreed. “Sex with you is fantastic.” He paused again before tipping his head slightly. “What about... feelings? Are they worth it? Am... am I worth it?”

**Again, if he had been able to lie about this things would have been easier. “I’m not sure about feelings, but you are definitely worth it, sapling,” Bill said and kissed his cheek.**

“If you could change it, would you?” He asked softly, smiling a little at the kiss. “Like get rid of the feelings?”

**For the Axolotl’s sake! Pine Tree really wanted Bill to dig them into a deeper hole. Didn't he know him enough not to think questions like that were a good idea?! Bill tried really hard to lie this time, but it only ended up causing him pain. “YES!” He ended up yelling and then he grabbed Dipper’s phone and stopped the recording. “This is useless.”**

Dipper jumped slightly at the yell, sitting up again so he could better face Bill. “Easy, it’s okay,” he assured quickly, reaching out to take his phone from him. Pressing record again, he set it down, so it recorded the floor but caught their voices. “I want the good and the bad- you wouldn’t believe some fairytale version of our relationship. So I want the honesty, I want the answers that surprise me like that.” Reaching, he took his hands gently. “Why would you get rid of feelings?” His voice was even more gentle than before

**Bill took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He focused on Dipper’s hands. “You know the two of us would be better off without each other,” he finally replied. “Maybe, if I hadn’t developed feelings for you then you’d have killed me or gotten me out of this dimension for good before I could get my powers back, I wouldn’t have been able to harm you.”**

“I happen to think the two of us are better together,” he countered gently, looking down at their hands for a moment before looking up at him again. “Because you made me... better, you know that, right? Did I not help you at all? Because I wanted to.”

**“I suppose you did... It all depends on your perspective, sapling,” the demon reminded his boyfriend. “Yes, I think I’m better at some timings, but I also think maybe I’m confused and that’s it.” The demon sighed and laid down on the blankets, looking up at the ceiling. “I like you and me like what we have, but I still don’t know how to feel about every aspect of our relationship.”**

Dipper nodded slowly, folding his hands in his lap. “Alright. Well, let’s talk about that, okay? What aspects of the relationship aren’t you sure of? The best part of most relationships is that things can change.”

**“I’m still a demon, Mason, the parts of our relationship that I’m still not sure of are those that need me to change,” or at least contain himself, since he was pretty sure they both knew him changing wasn’t something entirely possible. “I’m trying really hard, but so far the main reason why everything’s gone so smoothly is because of our deal.”**

“Like the whole... no killing people thing?” He asked, a little uncertainty.  He had a feeling he knew what Bill was talking about, but making assumptions never turned out well.

**“Not really, killing is not even the fun part, once the person’s dead they are dead and where’s the fun in that?” The demon closed his eye and sighed. “Are you really going to make me say it, Pine Tree?”**

“I’ve found that making assumptions leads to bad communication,” he said, watching him. “The torture part?” He tried again.

**“Yes,” Bill said with a sigh. “The torture part.” The demon opened his eye and glanced back at Dipper. “And don’t say I have you, I can’t bring myself to hurt you. I can only ‘torture’ you in ways we both enjoy.”**

Dipper had actually considered that, of letting Bill torture him. “No... but there are probably people and creatures who deserve it,” he said slowly. “Evil ones.”

**“Mmm...” Bill considered the idea for a moment. “I suppose we could come to some sort of arrangement in the future...” Right now didn’t seem like the right time to discuss it though.**

“Alright... we’ll put that one on hold. What else?” He glanced down at his phone, making sure it was still recording. “What else don’t you like?”

**“Being stuck in this town, in this dimension,” Bill said and took Dipper’s hands once again. “I’m not saying I  want to leave, it just would be nice to be able to, if I wanted.”**

“I don’t want you to be stuck here either. I want you to have the freedom to come and go as you please. What can we do to fix that?”

**Bill huffed a laugh. “Ask Sixer, it's his dumb equation what’s keeping me here,” the demon reminded the human. “Shouldn’t we be focusing on questions to get me to accept that whatever we have is real?”**

“What, you don’t think us talking about ways to make our relationship better makes it sound more real?” He countered lightly, kissing his hand. “What else do you want to talk about, then? You know yourself best, what information would you need?”

**“Well...” Bill thought for a long moment. “Despite the fact that I like you and I do try, for your sake, to treat your family better, I haven’t exactly been putting effort in making them like me, well, I haven’t been putting effort in making Ford like me and that’s something I would have tried harder to do if I was still faking everything. Like I just said, he is the reason why I’m still stuck, he knows how to get me out and a lot of other things that could have been really useful to me if I was still trying to take over this dimension.”**

Dipper chuckled a little, nodding. “That’s true, you don’t really care about what any of them think of you. You’ve just kinda accepted that Ford isn’t going to trust you, Mabel’s going to be protective. And... I honestly don’t know what Stan thinks if you.”

**"I think Stan likes my style, I'm not sure if he likes me," Bill pointed out. "But I honestly couldn't care less." The demon only cared about what Dipper thought of him.**

Dipper nodded a little. "I think Stan just cares less. As long as you aren't causing problems or hurting me, it doesn't matter to him."

**"Well, I can admit that I like Stan a little bit more than everyone else, except you." How could he not like him? The guy lied for a living.**

Dipper slowly arched an eyebrow. "I can totally see why you would," he said, a grin spreading across his face.

**"Well, anything else you'd like to ask me or we could skip to the part of the night in which we are truly alone and cuddle?" Sure, they were alone at the moment, but once Mr. Hyde came back he would watch and listen to the recording so... For Bill, it didn't count as being alone.**

"Yeah, okay, sure, Dr. Jekyll," Dipper laughed a little, leaning forward to shut off the recording before sliding back to snuggle up with his demon. "Alone and cuddling sounds like the perfect way to end the night."

**The triangle wrapped his arms around Dipper and snuggled as close as he could. "If you lucid dream maybe we could enjoy the time in your dreams as well..." Bill suggested and caressed the human's cheek gently with the back of his hand.**

Dipper nodded, smiling a little as he curled closer. "Already my plan," he murmured closing his eyes slowly. It took him a little while, he certainly wasn't perfect at this, but soon enough he dropped off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! Two updates in one day! Get ready for number three in a couple of hours because I'm doing it! - Alga


	6. Mr. Hyde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They _enjoy_ their break. If you know what I mean...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter: dream sex, people, just a little treat before things go to hell again.

_ Dipper opened his eyes in the middle of a field and smiled a little. "Bill?" He called. _

**_Bill stepped out of the shadows, looking like his human self and grinning. He couldn't control Dipper's dreams, but in the dreamscape, he could at least change his form, since it was still just a dream. "I'm here."_ **

_ Dipper grinned, instantly moving forward to wrap him in a tight hug. "Hi.." _

**_Bill hugged him back, burying his face in the human's neck. "You know it's a dream, right?" Bill wanted to make sure, if Dipper wasn't lucid dreaming then he had no control over his subconscious and that could lead to nightmares that Bill wouldn't be able to get rid of._ **

_ Dipper nodded, pressing a little closer. He loved both his forms, honestly, but it was much easier to hug Bill like this. "Yeah, I know... Lucid dream," he assured. _

**_"Good," Bill said and then kissed the other softly. He had no idea what the other him had done and he was still afraid of asking, so, just in case, he tried to take things slowly, no matter how desperate he was to tear Dipper apart -in the good way, of course._ **

_ Dipper slid his hands into Bill's hair as he kissed him back. The memories of the only time he had let Bill control his dream tried to surface and ruin things, but he pressed against the demon, holding on tightly. _

**_The demon moaned a little into the kiss and slowly lowered them both to the ground. He had been dying all day to feel like this again and even if it was just a dream he was going to take as much as the other would give him._ **

_ He moaned softly, clearly desperate for every touch and feeling Bill brought him. He’d gone without it for far too long, and needed this, now, the release and the care the demon always took with him. “Bill,” he managed as he broke the kiss, more a sob than anything. _

**_Usually, Bill would have interpreted the desperate tone in Dipper's voice as a cue to give him more, but given the situation, they were in he felt the need to make sure. The demon pulled away and gently cupped Dipper's face to make him look at him. "What? I need you to tell me what you want."_ **

_ Dipper blinked up at him; maybe his eyes were a little wetter than normal, but he certainly wasn’t going to say anything about it. Wrapping his hands around Bill’s wrists gently, he smiled slowly. “You. Please keep going, Bill..?” _

**_"Alright, sapling," the demon whispered and kissed him once again. He slowly moved his hands down the human's body and paused at his pants to pull down the zipper and get them out of the way._ **

_ Returning the kiss, he arched his hips slightly to help him get the pants off. Slowly, he slid his hands over Bill’s shoulders and down his back. _

**_"You've really missed me, didn't you?" Bill asked between kisses. "It's not just something you said..." Why was it still so hard for him to believe that the human cared about him? The demon moved away for a moment, just to slide off his jacket and then his yellow vest. "Tell me what you want, use your words, Mason."_ **

_ “I wouldn’t just say that,” he breathed, shaking his head a little. “I wouldn’t lead you on like that.” He cared too much, nearly everything he said was the truth, straight from his heart. No cover-ups or softening things. “I... I want...” he paused for just a moment, licking at his lips a little. “Something soft,” he finally mumbled, wanting -no, needing- the final separation between his Bill and the nightmare that had been forced upon him. “Can we do soft or.. or gentle, is that okay?” _

**_Bill smiled fondly at Dipper and nodded. "Of course." He wouldn't dare to suggest something different now if Dipper was asking him that it had to be for a reason. "I'll be gentle," he reassured him and pulled him into another soft kiss before taking off his shirt and going to slip his hands under the human's._ **

_ Dipper smiled weakly, nodding a little. “Okay,” he agreed, his voice breaking the slightest bit, thankful that Bill was just going to go along with it. Wasn’t going to ask or push or say no. “Thank you,” he added, leaning up to kiss him back. The moment Bill’s shirt was off, Dipper had his hands on him, running his fingers along his chest and stomach. _

**_Bill shivered a little at the touch. He kissed down Dipper's jaw and then found a perfect spot in the human's neck to leave a hickey. Usually, he would prefer to go for bites, but he was taking Dipper's request very seriously. As he did that he got rid of his own pants and underwear and pressed his crotch to the other's to rub against him._ **

_ Dipper’s breath hitched, head ripping back to expose more of his neck. Oh... he’s forgotten how much he liked that, it wasn’t something people usually thought about. Groaning softly, he pressed up quickly, rubbing back against him. _

**_The demon grinned against Dipper's neck when the other reacted to his ministrations. It still amazed him how something so little could affect his Pine Tree. Bill continued to mark Dipper up with hickeys and wrapped a hand around his and Dipper's cocks to pump them together._ **

_ Dipper squirmed under him, making tiny whimpering noises and sliding his arms around Bill. “Ohh, oh god, Bill,” he moaned, voice soft and weak. _

**_It was moments like this that made Bill regret nothing. The way the other called his name, almost as if he was everything he would ever need in the universe; the way he clung to him as if he was afraid he would disappear if he didn't. Watching Dipper fall apart like this was what made the demon stop from ending it all. "Such a perfect sapling..." he praised the human and then moved his hand away from their cocks so that he could start stretching Dipper open. Even if this was a dream, he wanted to make sure to do this right._ **

_ Dipper had closed his eyes at this point, reveling in every careful brush of skin on skin, the muscles under his fingers, the warmth. Throwing his head back, he let out a soft keen, trying to hold still and make Bill’s job easier. _

**_The demon slowly worked Dipper open, wanting to make sure the other felt nothing but pleasure. As he did so he kissed him and praised him as he had never before. When he finally felt his boyfriend was ready for his cock, he pulled out his fingers and lined himself up, waiting for Dipper to ask him to go on._ **

_ By the time Bill decided he was ready, Dipper was a mess, each breath a gasp or a moan as he squirmed underneath him. Letting out a weak sob as the fingers were pulled free, he scrambled to get a better hold on Bill’s shoulders. “Please,” he begged softly. _

**_Bill grinned and nodded. “Of course, sapling,” he said and slowly pushed into the human, letting out a soft gasp that almost sounded like a relieved sigh. He had been dying for this almost as much as Dipper._ **

_ Dipper let out a soft cry, dragging Bill down so he could hide his face in his shoulder. The human was shaking slightly, breath coming out in wet gasps. “Move,” he murmured. “Please move.” _

**_Bill nodded a little and started moving. Like Dipper had asked, he was as gentle as possible. It was different to what he was used to and he sure liked the other way better, but this was still great and just being able to be with his Pine Tree was enough._ **

_ Dipper pressed closer, letting out soft moans and quiet sounds as he clung to his shoulders. This was great, perfect, but he... now that he was firmly cemented in this moment, he.. “more,” he chocked out, holding him tighter. “B-Bill...” _

**_"Fuck..." Bill moaned and cupped Dipper's cheek. He didn't stop moving as he pulled a little away to look at Dipper in the eyes. "Are you sure?" He asked him softly._ **

_ “Yes,” he said firmly, closing his eyes tightly. “Please, more, Bill!” _

**_Bill smiled and kissed Dipper's forehead before starting to go a little bit harder._ **

_ Dipper groaned softly, arching his back slightly and clinging to his shoulders. _

**_The demon grinned and changed the angle a little to make sure he would hit Dipper's prostate with each trust._ **

_ That led to a almost surprised, clearly pleasured yelp, a whimpery groan. “Oh god, p-please!” _

**_Bill's thrust became a little bit harder then and he buried his face in Dipper's neck to nip at it. He wanted to bite down, but he was still keeping himself under control._ **

_ Dipper got louder, very quickly- moans and groans and cries, mindless babbling of Bill’s name and begging for “More, please Bill, oh god!” _

**_The demon didn't need to be asked twice, his thrusts got faster, harder and more desperate as he chased his climax. He finally bit down on Dipper's neck, hard enough to draw blood._ **

_ The bite was what pushed him over the edge he was balancing on, he came with a scream. Clutching to Bill as he came down from his high with several soft sobs. _

**_"Ngh... Pine Tree..." Bill moaned as he came inside Dipper a moment later, his whole body going stiff for a second before he relaxed and collapsed on top of the other. "Mmm..." The demon took a moment to get his breath back and then he kissed the corner of Dipper's mouth. "That was good..."_ **

_ Dipper opened his eyes slowly, tears on his cheeks and in his eyes. “Yeah,” he agreed, burrowing into Bill’s shoulder. _

**_It was only then that Bill noticed the tears, having been too lost in the moment before to pay attention to them. The demon frowned a little and pulled away to look at Dipper better. "Hey..." He gently wiped the tears away from his boyfriend's face. "Are you okay?"_ **

_ He nodded, sniffling a little. “I... Yeah, I am,” he whispered, resting a hand over Bill’s. “I’m okay...” he didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to bring up the memories from the last time he was here. _

**_"Mason..." Bill wasn't convinced and while he didn't really want to ask, he felt like now he couldn't not do it, he couldn't keep ignoring whatever had happened. The demon pulled out of his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him. "Don't lie to me, please."_ **

_ Dipper curled into his chest, staying silent for a few minutes. “Just... I made a mistake,” he said quietly. “And there were consequences I’m still trying to get over. It’s fine- I’m better.” _

**_The demon sighed and rubbed Dipper's back, holding him as close as possible. "You don''t want to talk about it, do you?" The demon sighed and closed his good eye. "Does it... Does it have to do with me?"_ **

_ Dipper let out a soft breath. “No... no, I don’t,” he whispered. “But yes.. it does.” _

**_Bill knew that hoping for Dipper's answer to be different had only been wishful thinking, but still, he had hoped. "Whatever I did... I'm sorry, sapling," he told him and kissed his cheek. "I'd do anything to undo it if I could."_ **

_ He smiled slowly. ”You’re already fixing it,” he assured, resting his head against his chest again. _

**_Bill smiled a little and ran a hand through Dipper's hair. "I'm glad." It still bugged him though, what exactly had he done? How bad could it have been?_ **

_ Dipper leaned up into the touch, smiling softly. _

**_Bill kissed Dipper a couple more times and then moved to a sitting position. "Anything else you'd like to do with the time we have here?"_ **

_ Dipper sat up, cleaning them off with a wave of his hand. “I’m not sure... what do you want to do?” _

**_Bill shrugged. "Anything." They could do whatever they wanted, they were in a dream. "We should still have an hour or two."_ **

_ “Alright...” he hummed thoughtfully, trying to decide what they were going to do. _

**_"We could just stay here and kiss if you can't think of anything else." Under other circumstances Bill would have suggested going for round two, but after how the last one had ended he simply couldn't._ **

_ Dipper laughed. “I never get tired of kissing you,” he agreed, leaning forward to steal one. _

**_Bill kissed back and grinned. "Seems like a nice way to end this dream, just kiss for a while."_ **

_ “Couldn’t think of any better way,” he agreed, kissing him again. _

**_Since they both seemed to agree on that, Bill simply continued to kiss and hold Dipper close for the rest of the dream._ **

* * *

**When they woke up, they were still cuddling in the real world and Bill still had his memories.**

Dipper stirred slowly, smiling a little when he wasn’t verbally attacked or pushed away. Bill must still have his memories, must still be Jekyll and not Hyde. Satisfied with his conclusion, he slowly opened his eyes.

**"Morning, Mason." Bill said and snuggled a little closer to the human, not wanting to let go. The spell had lasted the night, but he still had no idea how much time left he had and he wanted to enjoy this as much as possible.**

“Good morning, Bill,” he said softly, nuzzling into him slightly. He didn’t want to waste a single moment, who knew how long they had left? It could stop at any moment, and he would have to watch the transformation and go back to what he was dealing with for the past few weeks. Though he’d be able to do it better, this time- with the recording and the most recent memories to help.

**"Maybe I should let you go... You're probably hungry," Bill said but he didn't show signs of wanting to move away. They had had the dream and while they were in it everything had felt amazing, but now that they were back in the real world it didn't feel like it had been real and that was what Bill needed: reality.**

Dipper shook his head. “I’m fine. I don’t want to move yet,” he said quietly, sliding his arm around Bill and finding the perfect position to both snuggle into him and keep a tight grip. He needed this, needed the moments where everything felt real. He felt something bubble up in his throat, and he closed his eyes tightly, swallowing.

**Bill opened his eye and inspected Dipper's face for a moment. "What is it?" He asked him, hoping this time he wouldn't dismiss his question -but also hoping he would-.**

He shook his head a little. “Nothing. I’m just... feeling really emotional right now..?” He breath wavered slightly.

**Bill hesitate for a moment and then kissed Dipper's forehead. "Alright, I won't push." He felt better not asking for details anyway.**

Dipper nodded. “I wouldn’t really be able to explain it anyway,” he said softly, smiling shakily.

**The demon nodded in understanding and then he finally moved away and stretched a little. "How about I make your breakfast? You won't even have to leave the bed-" well, the makeshift nest they had prepared. "I can be back in less than ten minutes."**

Something very close to panic flashed across his face before he pulled back slightly. “Yeah... yeah, okay,” he said quietly.

**Bill frowned a bit. "Mason, it'll be just ten minutes..." Surely the spell would allow him to have ten more minutes, there was no need for Dipper to panic.**

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I know. I’ll see you soon,” he said, nodding slowly before settling back into the pillow fort.

**Bill was a little hesitant to leave, worried about Dipper, but eventually, he stood up and walked out of the cell and the lab.**

**He headed upstairs to the kitchen where he found Ford already having breakfast. "Morning, Sixer," he greeted him and then started preparing coffee for his boyfriend and him.**

Ford glanced up, a part of him incredibly pleased that the spell was still working- if only for Dipper's sake. He was clearly better with Bill around, anyone could see that. "Cipher," he said calmly.

**"So, Mason told me about your plan to get Will here, do you really have an idea of how to do that?" The demon asked as he prepared pancakes. "Because if you do, I'll have to admit I'm impressed..."**

Ford nodded, sipping at his coffee slowly. "Well, there are the summoning spells that I've found, that are specific to him," he started slowly, tapping his fingers on the table. "And I'll need to do more research, but there are ways to send people to other dimensions for short periods of time."

**Bill stopped what he was doing for a moment, his body stiffening and his hold on the pan tightening a little too much. He had to close his eye and take a deep breath to avoid yelling at Ford.  "You're not sending anyone, especially not Mason, into the dimension Will is in."**

Ford paused, slowly setting his cup down. "Would you... care to elaborate on that?" He asked calmly. "Because if it comes to that, I'm going to need a pretty good reason to tell him no."

**"I don't know much, just what I've heard and if that's true he's in a parallel dimension to this one, you know the risks of having a non-multidimensional creature running into another version of themselves." Of course, if the rumors about that dimension were true, that would probably be the least of their worries.**

"You know that won't be enough to convince him," he pointed out, watching him carefully. "If it gets to the point that he feels like we need Will, worrying about the rules isn't going to be enough."

**Bill flipped over the pancake and turned to face Ford again. "He won't be able to bring him back from there, not alone. Will is supposed to be bound to a different version of him and I don't think our Mason will be able to handle meeting him, if what I've heard it's true, so you need to find a way to get him here with a summon."**

"Okay, one, Dipper is a lot stronger than you think. Two... If he's bound would a summon even work?" He asked, leaning forward slightly.

**"I don't know, it shouldn't, at least not the usual one you would use." Bill glanced away once again, focusing on the pancakes. "I know he's strong, but right now he's no okay, he will say he is, that he can handle it, but I'm not sure if he really can and I don't want to lose him..."**

"Then we wait," he said simply. "We wait, and I see if I can find summons that will work even with a bond. And if we don't, we just wait until Dipper's in a slightly better place." He paused. "Honestly? I think he can handle it now. He was able to handle your switch, he would probably do it. He'd need some rest and recovery, and a break from this place, when he came back, but..." He shrugged a little.

**"Maybe, but I don't want to risk it." Bill finished preparing the pancakes and grabbed a tray in which he put the plate and two mugs of coffee. "So let's keep if to a last resort kind of thing, okay? Thanks." The demon then left the kitchen and headed back to the lab.**

"It already was," Ford assured, watching him leave. 

* * *

Dipper poked his head up, out of the mess of blankets he had buried himself in, and smiled a little. "Pancakes?"

**"Pancakes," Bill confirmed and joined Dipper in the blanket fort. "Told you I wouldn't be gone for too long," he added and kissed his cheek before handing him his mug of coffee.**

"Yes, you did," he smiled a little, taking the cup with a happy hum. "Thank you," he added with a smile, taking a slow sip from the mug.

**Bill took a sip of his coffee as well and relaxed a little now that he was back with Dipper. He couldn't stop thinking about how they were going to solve their problem though, he really didn't want the human going to that other dimension, it could be seriously risky.**

Dipper was forcing the problem from his mind, for now, just enjoying the pancakes and coffee, made to perfection, and the time he had left with Bill.

**When the demon finished his pancakes he started feeling different, charged in a way. He could tell his powers were waking up and he moved as far away from Dipper as possible. "I think we're out of time, sapling."**

Dipper winced, biting his lip as he gathered the dishes to take them out and set them on the table. "Oh... ah, alright," he said quietly, dragging out all the pillows and blankets as well. Shutting the door, he sighed softly and walked up to the cell. "Hand, please?" He asked, holding out his hand.

**Bill walked to the door once the cell was closed and took Dipper's hand. It was like he could feel himself slipping away. "I care about you, Mason, don't forget that," Bill reassured the human and then a horrible pain coursed through him and he cried out, leaning against the door. Then he was gone.**

Dipper smiled a little, squeezing gently as he nodded. "I won't," he said quietly, swallowing thickly. "... Bye, Bill," he whispered, letting go of his hand and taking several steps away from the cell to wait for the Hyde portion of his life.

**Bill rubbed at his eye as the pain faded away. "What did you do to me, Pine Tree?" He demanded to know, finally looking up at the human with one angry red eye. Bill closed the distance between them as much as he could and tried to grab him. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"**

Dipper was nearly a foot out of reach, his hands in his pockets and his head turned so he wasn't looking at Bill. Slowly, he let out a sigh. "It was just a memory spell. Relax, Hyde," he said quietly, looking up at him when he was sure his emotions were in check. "I had a solid 24 hours with the you that remembers the past six months. That's it."

**That really bothered Bill, he didn't want Dipper to find a permanent way to get that part of him back, not if everything that the other had been telling him was true all this time. That part of him was a part that had allowed himself to show weakness again and Bill had promised himself a long time ago that it would never happen. "Huh, I see, bet you thought you'd get more time..." He needed to find out how Dipper had done that.**

Dipper shook his head. "I actually thought I'd wake up to you, instead. I didn't think I'd get breakfast with him, too," he said calmly, gesturing to the sea of pillows and blankets around him. "We slept in a blanket fort in your cell last night, it was nice. I have video of some of it, he wants to convince you, too." Laughing a little, he moved to gather the breakfast dishes. "I'm playing messenger for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Never thought that would happen," he hummed, moving towards the stairs- fairly slowly, he was tired.

**Bill glared at Dipper. "DON'T CALL ME THAT." He knew the reference and sure, it fit, but he wouldn't have Pine Tree compare him to a weak human, even if it was just a fictional character. As for the recording... he supposed he could watch it, just too make sure the other would see nothing would work with him.**

"I'll do what I want," he said sarcastically, glancing back. "I'll be down in a few minutes if you want to watch the recording we can do it then." With that, he marched up the stairs to take care of the dishes and grab his laptop.

**Bill punched a wall, frustrated. How did this human expect him to believe they had a nice and healthy relationship if even when he asked one simple thing the other didn't listen? Bill couldn't believe he would get involved with anyone if he knew he wouldn't get any kind of benefits from them and, no matter how much Dipper tried to convince him that he did get benefits, Bill simply couldn't believe it.**

Dipper let out a slow breath. Alright, he wasn’t handling this well. He was lashing out at Bill, the actual worst thing he could do to try and make this work. The demon would never believe him if he didn’t honor even simple requests- even if they were demands, shouted at him. Nodding a little, Dipper made his way down and set up his computer to show the recording. “I’m sorry,” he said finally. “That wasn’t fair. Of course, if you don’t want me making Jekyll and Hyde references, I’ll stop.”

**The demon narrowed his eye at Dipper. "Good," he said after a moment and walked closer to the door so that he could get a better look of Dipper's laptop. "Now, show me this recording of yours so that we can get over it," he added and rolled his eye.**

Dipper nodded. “Only the first half had video. The second is just our voices,” he hummed, before pressing play and moving out of Bill’s way.

**Bill watched the whole recording without saying a word. He couldn't deny that was him, couldn't deny that he clearly wasn't lying since he knew he couldn't at the moment. It was what he feared in the end, he had allowed himself to become weak. The recording only gave Bill more reasons to stop Dipper from getting him back. "You said I was sort of human when this started and yet you can't see that the only reason why I became infatuated with you is because I was exposed to useless human emotions? You think I would ever want to return to that?"**

Dipper shut his computer gently, resting his hand on it for just a moment before turning to face Bill again. “Well, obviously you started liking me because you had emotions,” he pointed out with a slight frown. “You can’t like someone if you don’t experience the feeling. I thought we had that figured out already. What I don’t know, however, is why you’re fighting so hard against it. It’s not like you aren’t the strongest being in existence, whether you have feelings or not.”

**"I don't owe you explanations, Pine Tree, and I'm not fighting, the feelings you're talking about simply aren't there," he said. Well, maybe they were there, but he did a marvelous job at suppressing them, to the point were he believed they weren't, so it was technically not a lie. The demon then turned around and laid down on the blanket fort. "Thanks for this though, it's way more comfortable than the concrete floor."**

“Yes they are,” he said calmly. “It’s simple logic. You have anger, which is a feeling, you have happiness and hate. What’s to say you aren’t suppressing the rest?” He asked, arching an eyebrow and glancing over the blankets. “You’re welcome. I know, I slept there last night.”

**"I'm not, I'm simply more advanced than you and I don't need more that those three," the demon pointed out, then grabbed his ball and started bouncing it against the wall, decided to ignore Dipper for the rest of the day.**

“Hmm... I think you’re wrong.” Seeing that Bill was going to ignore him, he gathered his things and made his way upstairs. Alright, that hadn’t worked, even a little bit. It made things worse. He still had the lucid dreams and the memories, but... he didn’t know what else to do.

* * *

**Ford noticed Dipper had left the lab so he called him to the kitchen. "Blll seemed fine. How long do you think he has left?" He asked his nephew.**

Dipper shook his head, setting the laptop down on the table and taking a seat. “He doesn’t. It’s done. He’s gone again.”

**"Oh..." Damn, Ford had hoped they would get two or three days together not just 24hs... Then again, he should have expected that Bill was extremely powerful, the amount of magic needed to truly suppress his powers was insane, Ford didn't think a lot of beings possessed that kind of magic. "I'm sorry, Dipper, but don't worry, we'll keep trying."**

Dipper nodded a little, resting his head in his hand. “It’s okay.. it was a nice 24 hours. Very worth it. But nothing Bill suggested has worked so far, it’s just made this one more adamant that he wants nothing to do with m-... Anything.”

**"You just need to keep trying," Ford encouraged him and smiled. "How did you make him fall for you in the first place? You could try that again...."**

“I don’t know! I just... was nice. And I talked to him. Honestly, if you hadn’t said anything I doubt anything would have happened. The first date was fake and ended with me having a breakdown. So I don’t know. And he was still considering just using the relationship to get what he wanted for a couple months after that.”

**"Ah, I see..." Ford held his head in his hand and trying to think about something Dipper could do. "So he ended up falling for his own act in the end, but now he's resisting everything, he clearly has no intention to pretend he likes you..." What were they supposed to do then?**

Dipper folded his arms on the table and rested his head there. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, after a few minutes of silence, sounded completely destroyed. “He won’t be mine again. He’ll never be the demon I fell in- I care for again. What’s even the point anymore...”

**Dipper hadn't said the words but Ford had heard them anyway. He had known his nephew's feelings for the demon were deep, but he hadn't imagined they were that deep. "No, don't say that, he just was that guy, just what? An hour ago? We'll find a way, we'll get Will, something has to work."**

“It doesn’t matter, Ford!” He sat up to meet his uncle’s eyes, his own red-rimmed from suppressing tears. “Even if I can get him to admit that he has feelings, he still won’t be the same! I thought I could handle it, and I might have been able to if he had any recollection of the last few months, but he doesn’t, at all. There’s no... good in him like this!” Sniffling, he rubbed at his eyes. “This isn’t the person that would call me Mason.”

**"Oh, Dipper..." Ford pulled his nephew into a tight hug and closed his eyes. He wished he had the knowledge to fix this, Bill had made Dipper happy again and no matter how Ford felt about the demon, that was the only important thing for him.. "I promise you we'll figure it out, we already proved that it's his power repressing the memories, it's a defense mechanism, we only need to find a way to stop it."**

Dipper pressed into the hug, curling his hands into the front of Ford’s jacket and holding on. His shoulders shook slightly with suppressed sobs. He had nothing to say, there wasn’t a way to stop that- the powers blocked the memories, maybe they could get them, but would it even matter?

**Ford patted Dipper's back and held him close for as long as the other needed, all while he thought of a plan. He could see what Bill had been talking about earlier, Dipper was in no state to go to another dimension to face who knew what kind of threat. If the only way to get Will was to go to the dimension he was in and personally breaking the bond, then Ford would have to do it.**

Dipper eventually calmed, staying in Ford’s embrace for a short while longer until he was sure he was done. Finally, he pulled away, drying his eyes quickly. “... sorry.”

**“Don’t apologize, crying is good, it helps.” Ford Artes Dipper’s shoulder a couple of times and then pulled away.”I need to go to Fiddleford’s place, do you think you’ll be okay?”**

“Still,” he said softly, shaking his head a little. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. See you later.”

**Ford offered Dipper a gentle smile and ruffled his hair before leaving the kitchen and heading out of the shack. He was planning to stay all day with Fiddleford trying to find a way to permanently get Bill's memories back, but if he couldn't find anything then he would go and get Will.**

Dipper let out a slow breath, clearing his mind as he focused. Alright.. he could do more reading, more research, try and find more ways to get what he wanted. Running a hand through his hair, he stood, making his way back to the lab to gather more books. Moving through the library, he glanced at Bill once or twice, but said nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uff... poor guys don't seem to be able to catch a real break... Currently working on another chapter btw, kinda excited about it because SOFT BOI WILL CIPHER, so I'm likely to post it today as well. - Alga


	7. Blue Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ford rescues Will from the Gleeful family.

**Ford and Fiddleford spent all day going through the later's library. Every book, every scroll, they went through them twice and found nothing. Ford knew he only had one other choice... Fiddleford tried to stop him, but he wouldn't be convinced. It was time.**

**Together, in secret, the two scientists had created a smaller, more stable version of the original portal. They had tried it only once and it had worked perfectly with no risks, but they had never tried to get someone from another dimension through it and that was what worried Fiddleford the most. Still, he knew there would be no convincing Ford. "I'll try to be back as soon as possible, just... if Dipper asks were I am, tell him I had to leave Gravity Falls to get more ingredients for a spell." He told Fiddleford and then he activated the portal and jumped inside.**

* * *

**Bill felt the energy from the rift in reality opening and frowned. "What..?" He murmured and closed his eye to try and see where that had happened, but with Dipper controlling his powers, he couldn't see shit.**

Dipper looked up from what he was doing, turning to face Bill. "What, what's wrong?" He asked, moving towards the cell.

**Bill considering telling Dipper for a second, but in the end, he decided it was probably better if he didn't. That open rift could be his way out if he managed to find it... "Nothing, I got cold, must be a side effect of you not letting me access my powers," he said instead.**

Dipper nodded a little, deciding to let it go. Even as he loosened his control just the slightest bit, allowing Bill just the slightest access to his magic. Not much, of course, but maybe enough to fix whatever had just happened.

* * *

**Ford spent around a week in the parallel dimension, just trying to figure out how to go about getting Will out of the Gleeful's manor. The thing he had seen in those two days were more than enough to make him feel sick. He was glad he hadn't told Dipper to come... Having found out the sort of situation Will was in, Ford was starting to doubt he would be of any help, but now that he was there he couldn't just leave the dream demon, he wouldn't feel good if he didn't try to save him.**

**Ford studied the Gleeful's routine and on Friday night he finally broke into the place. Lucky for him, his fingerprint opened the door to the room where they kept Will at night.**

To the untrained eye, it might have been possible to believe that Will was passed out in the corner of his prison, oblivious to the swish of the open door and the wash of light in the pitch black room. Of course, the untrained eye would have probably missed the sudden tension that froze him in place, or the slight shaking, especially prominent in the arm chained to the wall and held over him at an awkward angle. Maybe if he didn't react, they wouldn't torture him any farther that night.

**"William?" Ford murmured in the most gentle tone he could muster. The dream demon had been through a lot only that day, Ford knew he had to be careful. The man closed the door behind him, just in case, and walked closer to the demon. "I've come to get you out of here..."**

He couldn't help the flinch that followed the call of his name and the soft thud of footsteps approaching him. It was late, he was tired... he just wanted a break, the scant few hours were very little could go wrong. Wait.. get him... out? Very slowly, he moved to look up at Ford, opening his eye. "W... what?"

**Ford smiled sadly at William, He looked terrible, the poor thing, it was really hard to believe that this was supposed to be Bill. “I’m from another dimension, I’ve come to get you out of here,” the scientist explained and offered Will his hand so that he could take it and stand up.**

Will hesitated, waiting for the trick, the trap. Was he going to be punished if he said yes? For daring to overstep and believing that? 

In the end, it didn’t matter. He had to try, right? It was his only chance.  Shaking the entire time, Will reached up to take Ford’s hand and forced himself to stand. For a moment, it looked like he was going to collapse again, but somehow he held himself up. 

Only to be stopped by the pull of the chain around his wrist, which drew out an agonized whimper. Of course, he couldn’t, he was so dumb to think that. Glancing from the chain to Ford, fresh tears filled his eye, and he quickly looked down again.

**Right, the bond, Ford had forgotten about that for a second. “Are you okay?” He asked, kneeling in front of Will and inspecting the chain. It was similar to the ones Bill had, but not exactly the same, it made Ford wonder if aspects of the spell used on Will were different. “Alright, you’re going to have to trust me with this,” he told the scared demon and then he pulled a device out of his trenchcoat. He didn’t want to open the rift inside the house, but he had no other choice. He hoped that his and Fiddleford’s hypothesis would work and going through the portal would sever the bond enough to break the chain. Ford finished typing and the rift opened. “I’m going to need you to go through that.”**

Will nodded, rubbing at his wrist slowly and keeping his eyes glued to the ground. “I... I’m okay,” he whispered thickly, tears steadily hitting the ground beneath him. He hated this, every moment trapped in this stupid cell in a human form just because it was easier to torture. And this Ford was asking for his trust? He didn’t know what was going to happen! 

But still... he didn’t have much of a choice. Nothing could be worse than this. Nodding a little, he slowly looked up again, watching the human open a rift. Standing shakily, he stepped forward, hesitated for just a moment, before diving through the rift. 

The chain shattered as he hit the ground with a soft sob, curled in on himself protectively.

**Fiddleford was on the other side, waiting for Ford's return, pacing around the room. When Will came through the portal, the old scientist was immediately by his side, helping him stand up. "Where's Ford?" He asked him as he took him to the nearest chair he could find and made him sit down.**

**Ford sighed in relief when the chain shattered. The bond wasn't completely broken, but this would certainly stop this dimension's version of his nephew from finding Will easily. They should have enough time to come up with something better and hopefully help both Will and Bill. Ford stepped through the rift as well and then turned off the portal.**

Will flinched slightly, too exhausted to put up much of a fight as Fiddleford dragged him away and propped him up in a chair. “Should... should be coming,” he mumbled, swaying slightly. He almost toppled out of the chair as the human stepped through the rift and closed it, relief making him limp.

**Fiddleford was relieved when Ford stepped through and finally turned off the portal. It had been active for an entire week and the scientist had barely been able to sleep because of it. "It worked..." he said and Ford gave a small nod, his gaze focused on the dream demon. "I'll make some tea," Fiddleford added and then left the room.**

**Ford pulled another chair for himself and sat down in front of Will. "How are you?"**

Will blinked slowly, looking up at Ford. How was he, really? In pain, for starters, mentally and physically drained, on edge and fighting panic. None of that came out of his mouth. What did come out was, "I'm... fine."

**Ford sighed and offered the other a gentle smile. "You don't need to lie, I'm here to help," he explained. "Are you in pain? Do painkillers work for you? Because if they do then I can definitely get you some."**

It took a few more minutes for him to dare open his mouth again, hunching his shoulders in on himself slightly. "They can't hurt," he said quietly, staring at the ground. 

**"Alright, I'll be right back." Ford stood up and headed to the bathroom to get the meds and also a glass of water. He returned just a moment later and sat once again. "Here, I usually take two," he explained and handed Will the meds and the glass. Ford then inspected Will's body more carefully. He could see countless bruises on the visible skin and scars as well. "They didn't let you heal properly, did they?"**

Will struggled with the bottle for a moment before getting it open, shaking a couple into his hand and swallowing them down with several greedy swallows that mostly drained the glass. Clutching it close to him, he looked over himself, taking in the bloody tattered clothes and scars and bruises, cuts that were just starting to scab over. "No," he said weakly. "I never really... There was never enough time between, and... I didn't have the magic to waste."

**"I'm so sorry you had to live through something like that," Ford couldn't even imagine doing such a thing to Bill, even though at some point he had hated him more than anything in the world.**

**Fiddleford entered the lab once again, carrying a tray with 3 cups of tea. "I prepared a room for him," he told Ford. "Considering how things are at the Mystery Shack I thought it would be better if he spent his first night here," he added and Ford nodded. It was a good idea.**

Will nodded, keeping his head bowed submissively as he waited for them to decide what was going to happen to him. He didn't have it in him to try and fight for his freedom. Instead, he fell silent as the second human entered the room, finishing his water and setting the cup aside. 

His head jerked up, looking between the pair. "I... I get a room?" He asked, wrapping his arms around himself tightly.

**"Yes, of course, you do." Ford had seen where they kept Will every night so he wasn't at all surprised by the other's reaction. "We are not like them, you hear me? We're here to help you," he reassured him and Fiddleford nodded.**

"Oh..." Will whispered thickly. He blinked away tears quickly, sniffling softly. He couldn't let himself hope, not again, he couldn't be destroyed about things again. But... Oh, he really wanted to believe that things could be good here.

**"Yeah... it's over, Will." Ford should hope it was, he hoped they would be able to keep the dream demon safe... In the end, it seemed like he had got a new problem instead of a solution to their previous one, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "Come on, drink your tea, I need to make a phone call. If you need anything, tell Fiddleford, alright?" Ford then stood up and headed out of the room to call Dipper.**

He offered the smallest, weakest smile and nodded. “Okay,” he said, reaching out to take the cup of tea, savoring the warmth of the mug in his hands before taking a slow sip. “Thank you,” he added, letting out a sigh as he settled back into the chair. 

* * *

Dipper answered the phone after the first couple rings. “Hey, Ford.”

**"Hey, Dipper, how's everything at home?" Ford was glad that Dipper didn't sound worried, even though he had been absent way longer than he should have. "How's Bill?"**

“It’s okay,” he said, leaning back against the table. “He’s... well, he’s Bill. Stubborn and currently refusing to talk to me. How are you?”

**"I'm fine, I'll be back tomorrow," Ford said and sighed. Well, at least it was better if Bill refused to talk to Dipper instead of trying to drag him down. "I'm going to need you to prepare a spare room... unless you're willing to give up Bill's room for a bit?"**

“Good,” he said quietly, nodding a little. He missed having Ford around, he was the only one who really understood what was happening and Dipper needed that stability. “For... for who..?” He asked, after several agonizing moments. The prospect of giving up his and Bill’s room sent an icy stake through his heart, it felt like giving up.

**Ford smiled a little. In a way, he had good news, even if things would be a lot more complicated than he had hoped. "I got Will, that's where I was... I told Fiddleford to tell you a different story because I didn't want you to worry."**

Dipper blinked, nodding quickly. “Oh, you did? That’s... great! Yeah, I can... he can sleep in our room, I’ll go back to the attic.” That was okay, he could give up his room for Will.

**"Good, he's going to need new clothes too... Make sure the room looks inviting, he's..." Ford ran a hand through his hair. He knew he would have to explain everything to Dipper eventually, but right now he felt like telling him the state Will was in would take his nephew's hope away and he didn't want that. "He's quite shocked."**

“Yeah, okay. I’ll head out and get some stuff. I’m guessing he’s pretty close to Bill’s size, what’s his color scheme?” He was teasing a little, of course, but Bill had been really fond of yellow clothing, so... “Alright. I’ll keep it in mind.”

**"Light blue," Ford said, huffing a laugh. "He's just like Bill but blue and his voice is a little bit different, though that might be because he doesn't shout as much as him."**

Dipper laughed. “Yeah, I suppose that would do it.” He paused, tapping his fingers on the table. “Should I tell Bill that he’s here?”

**"I don't know..." Obviously, it wasn't a good idea for Bill to meet him immediately and if the demon knew he was here he would definitely wonder why they wouldn't let him see him... "Maybe we should wait a bit longer, meet him first and we'll see how we go about it."**

“Okay... Yeah, I guess you’re right. Bill could...” he shook his head. “If Will is in bad shape, Bill would make it worse. Alright. I’ll go shopping, get him some things... and I’ll see you both tomorrow?”

**"Yes, we'll see you tomorrow, bye, Dipper," Ford said and then he hung up. Will was in bad shape alright, but Ford didn't fear that Bill would make it worse, he feared that it would make their demon's opinion about feelings and weakness even stronger.**

"Bye." Hanging up, he let out a slow breath before sliding his phone in his hoodie pocket and going to get his wallet. Alright- he knew Bill's sizes since he was stealing his clothes all the time, he'd just get things that were a little baggy and comfortable in various shades of blue And he'd change the room a bit to make it less his. "Running to the store!" He called down the stairs to the demon that was still ignoring him before heading out. 

* * *

Will had dozed off in the chair, his knees drawn up to his chest, by the time Ford came back from his phone call.

"He wouldn't leave without you," Fiddleford told Ford once he walked into the lab. Ford sighed and rubbed his eye. 

**"Alright, help me carry him to the room, he really needs to have a good night of sleep in a real bed."**

**Together the two men carried Will and then both retreated to other rooms to sleep as well. The next morning, after a nice breakfast, Ford said goodbye to his friend and drove Will to the Mystery Shack.**

**"Now... Dipper told me he got you some clothes so that you don't have to wear those anymore... I know that maybe seeing my great nephew will be difficult for you but he's not him, okay?"**

Will nodded, picking at one of the rips in the pants he wore. Sure, part of him understood that the Dipper he was going to meet, Dipper Pines, wasn't the same as Mason Gleeful. But... it was still worrisome, he'd been beaten down too often to trust that. "Right," he agreed weakly. "He's... not the same.." Still, he sunk his teeth into his lip when the Shack came into sight, his hands shaking again as the car came to a stop. Oh, oh no, he had to do this now.

Dipper had put way more effort into making the Mystery Shack seem warm and homey, had stripped everything that was his or Bill's from the room Will would be using and had replaced it with comforting, more generic objects- blankets and pillows and even stuffed animals; books and paintings and anything else he could think of to brighten up the room, the clothing he had gotten was already packed away, minus the softest blue shirt and pants that he thought Will might want to change into first. The work had extended to himself, as well; Dipper had gone with muted colors and a sweater at least two sizes too big to make him as unthreatening as possible. Pausing as he heard the car pulled up and shut off, he moved to sit at the kitchen table to wait.

**Ford noticed Will was shaking so he turned to face him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can ask him to go to the lab or another room if you don't want to see him yet, he'll understand..." Or well, he would once he explained. "We can do this at your pace." It was important that Will didn't feel threatened here, that he finally felt at peace, they had to help him so that he could help them.**

Will stared at the Shack, curling his hands into tight fists to stop the shaking and pressing them into his thighs. He could do this, he could, this wasn't the same. Just the fact that they were that Shack and not Gleeful Manor. "No, I... I can... I want to be able to do this," he said shakily, looking back at Ford, eye wide. "I need to, I-I have to prove that it's different."

**Ford smiled a little and nodded. "Alright, if you're sure..." He said and then he got out of the car and walked around it to open the door for Will. "Dipper is looking forward to meeting you, he... well, he still doesn't know exactly what you've gone through, I don't think Bill told him anything... Then again, Bill told me that the only thing he knows were rumors, that you two hadn't seen each other in a very long time."**

Despite what he had just said, it still took Will a couple minutes to get out of the car, to willingly slide his legs out and stand up, grip tight on the top of the door. "No, we haven't seen each other in... I don't even remember how long, centuries, at least," he admitted, taking a deep breath before shutting the door and looking up at that Shack.

**"He has no idea what you've been through then... do you know what he's been through?" If Bill had heard rumors then maybe Will had too, though it was true that while Bill had been out there trying to destroy their dimension, Will had been bound, unable to use his magic. Ford offered the demon his arm and started walking with him to the shack.**

He shook his head after a moment, moving closer and eagerly taking Ford's arm, wanting the support and the safety that was offered with attaching himself to the human. "No, I haven't been able to," he murmured focusing on the ground as they approached the Shack. A shudder ran through the dream demon as they stepped out of the sun and into the shadows of the Shack.

**"Well, we can get you to catch up later. Bill is currently... a bit difficult to deal with, we still don't know if it's a good idea for him to see you. What do you think?" Ford asked the demon as they stepped into the Shack. Mabel and Stan were busy giving the tourists a tour around the forest, so the only people in the place were them, Bill and Dipper. "We're here!" Ford called out to let Dipper know.**

"Bill also doesn't like me," Will said softly. "He thinks I'm pathetic and weak and... he's not... wrong," he said softly, ducking his head a little farther as they moved into the Shack. 

"I'm in the kitchen!" Dipper called back, and Will flinched, breath picking up slightly.

**Ford stopped and turned a little to face Will. "Hey, it's okay, remember, it's not him," he tried to reassure the other. "And Bill is wrong, you've just been through hell, you're not weak, not everyone survives what you've been through."**

Will nodded, trying to keep that in his mind. It wasn't the same, they weren't the same person. "Y-you think?" He asked, tugging at his shirt slightly.

**"Yes, you're stronger than you think, Will, I'm sure of it," Ford reassured the demon and offered him a gentle smile before he continued walking, finally entering the kitchen. "Dipper, Will, Will, Dipper," he introduced them.**

Will didn’t stop the little smile that coaxed out of him, nodding a little. Praise was wonderful, after all. And it helped soothe his nerves. Still.. he froze when he saw Dipper, catching every similarity and every difference. 

Dipper stayed where he was, smiling softly. “Hi, Will. Nice to meet you.”

**Will nodded, managing to choke out a soft “H-hello..”**

**Ford watched carefully how Will reacted, but seeing as he didn't seem to be panicking, he relaxed a little and went to sit down.**

**Will was doing everything he could to remain calm. He couldn't quite meet the other's eyes, but his gentle tone made some of his fear go away.**

Dipper shifted a little, his sleeves falling over his hands. Will looked... oh wow, that was bad. “Do you want something to drink, or eat? Or would you rather shower and change first?” He asked gently.

**"Sh- showering might be good..." It would definitely help him relax and it would be nice to be able to take a shower without Mason 'helping' him.**

**"Of course, I'm sorry I didn't think about it earlier." Ford stood up once again. "I'll show you the way to the bathroom." That would also give Ford a moment to answer Dipper's questions.**

“I set up the room, too,” Dipper told Ford quickly. “So you have a pretty wide option of clothes to change into, I cleaned the store out of blue clothes that were also comfortable.”

**Will managed to smile a little, touched by the gesture. "Thank you." He murmured and followed Ford to the bathroom. The old man explained where everything was and handed him a towel for him to use, then he told him where his room was and that everything he would need to change would be there. Will thanked Ford again and before he could stop himself, he pulled him into a hug. He knew he had to be careful, it wasn't the first time someone had treated him nicely and then had proceeded to stab him in the back, but he had been in pain for oh so long... feeling cared for again was wonderful. He hoped this time thing would be different.**

“Yeah, course. You’re welcome,” Dipper smiled, watching them leave before slumping back into his chair. Jesus, who could have hurt him like that?! It looked like he’d been beaten within an inch of death, repeatedly, with just enough time to heal to keep him alive. Dipper didn’t think he had ever seen something that awful, not even during his dark days. Soon, he heard the shower turn on, and he shifted to wait for Ford. 

“Who?” He asked before his uncle had really made it all the way into the room.

**Ford stopped and bit his lip, giving Dipper a serious look before finally finishing making his way into the kitchen and taking a seat. "Take a seat, Dipper," he told his nephew and waited till the other did, to continue. "I... The situation I found Will in was far from ideal..." he began explaining. "He was in a parallel dimension from ours."**

Dipper sank into a chair across from him, watching and waiting for him to tell what had happened, what had made Will so scared, who could have hurt someone to that extent. “Okay,” he said slowly, nodding.

**"I didn't gather a lot of information during my time there but... Well, our counterparts in that dimension are the Gleeful, we're not Pines there, I'm still a scientist, I think, I made sure not to run into me, since we know that has consequences," Ford stopped and stood up to prepare some tea. He needed it and he had the feeling Will would like some as well. "He was bound, to you, Dipper. Well, not you you, but the other you."**

Dipper didn’t answer for several long minutes. “So... I did that to him?” He finally spoke, more to himself than to Ford. “Fuck, no wonder he wouldn’t even look at me! And was hiding behind you when you both came in! If it was the other way around I’d be terrified too!” He huffed angrily, raking a hand through his hair.

**"You didn't do anything, alright? He knows that he's just having a hard time getting used to the idea that you're not him, but I'm sure you'll end up being good friends," Ford reassured his nephew. "We can help him and then he can help us in return, we just need to be more careful around him, show him he's safe here and that he can trust us. Everything will be fine." Ford sighed and ran a hand through his grey hair, looking away. "I know it's not what we were hoping for, but I couldn't bring myself to leave him there..."**

“I hope so,” he mumbled, nodding a little. “I don’t care that it’s not what we were hoping for, I’m glad you didn’t leave him there. No one deserves what happened to him- and we probably don’t know it all. I’d rather spend months working on making him better and then try and help Bill than just leave him someplace where people torture him every day.”

**Ford smiled and nodded. He poured himself a cup of tea. "That's what I thought you'd say." The scientist sat down once again. "Just... go easy on him, I know he'll come to trust you and tell you everything, but give him time."**

**_Pine Tree, who did Sixer bring with him? Their presence is oddly familiar,_ ** **Bill asked Dipper. Yesterday he had felt the rift close and with it his hopes to get out of that dimension. But at least now he knew there was another portal, he just needed to activate it. The new person in the house had woken up his curiosity though, he wanted to know who they were.**

Dipper nodded, coming to his side to get his own cup. “Yeah.. Of course,” he said quietly. “Of course I’ll take it easy with him. I’ll be as careful as possible.  He paused. “Bill wants to know who the knew person you brought is,” he relaid. “Should I tell him? I know we were going to wait, but... I’d rather tell him then lie and have him figure it out- I’m trying to build trust here, not destroy it.”

**Ford sighed and nodded. "If you put it like that... But maybe let's wait a little bit longer for them to meet. Will says Bill doesn't like him and I don't think it's a good idea for him to be around him when he just got out of that hell hole he was in."**

“Alright. I’ll... stall him until tonight, at least. Then I can tell him.” Dipper smiled a little. 

_ Tell ya later, it’ll lead to a pretty long discussion and I’d rather do that in person, _ he responded.

**_You better tell me tonight, Pine Tree, I thought there would be no secrets between us._ **

**"Might be for the best, you'll have some time to try and talk to Will too and asses the damage better." One day was better than nothing for sure.**

_ It’s not a secret. It’s me waiting for a better time to deal with it. I’m going to tell you. _

“Yeah, I can give it my best shot. Hopefully, he’s willing to talk to me.”

* * *

**Will took his time in the shower. He had never been allowed to have such a luxury. Before meeting the Gleefuls he hadn't needed it and afterward... He didn't even want to think about it. Will scrubbed his body as hard as he could, trying to get rid of the feeling of Mason's touch from his skin. He only stopped when he realized he would end up hurting himself. Once he was done, his blue hair no longer grey from the dust and dirt in it, he stepped out and wrapped the towel around his body. He took a deep breath before running from the bathroom to the room that had been offered to him and once there he changed into the most comfortable clothes Dipper Pines had gotten from him. A blue sweater with a pattern of black triangles was definitely his favorite.**

Dipper sighed a little, running his hand through his hair. Okay, he was going to have to start the conversation somehow- and decided that he was going to start with one of the easiest ways possible. Which was he waiting 15 minutes until after the shower had shut off to head down the hall and gently tap on the door to the room that was now Will's. "Hey, I'm making tea and soup, do you want some?" He asked, voice soft and soothing.

**Will was sitting at the edge of the bed, not sure about what to do. He had thought about going through the stuff in the room but he was afraid that if he disrupted the order in the room then someone would get mad at him, so he sat and did nothing. When Dipper knocked gently on the door, he looked up at him and gulped. "O-of course, Mas-" he shook his head and looked away. "Dipper," he corrected himself and stood up to follow the other to the kitchen.**

Dipper smiled a little, leading him back to the kitchen and getting both the tea and the soup started. "Hey, I just want to let you know, that room is yours while you're here. You can do what you want with it," he said with a hum, smiling over his shoulder before coming over to pour them each a cup and leaving the soup to simmer. "I figured that would probably be a different concept from what you had before. From what Ford told me."

**Will took a seat by the table and nodded. "Yes, I... I... It's been a long time since I last had a bed," he finally said and looked up at Dipper. "I like the hat." He told him and smiled a little. It was one of the things that reminded Will that this guy wasn't Mason Gleeful, Mason would have never let anyone catch him wearing something like that.**

Dipper shook his head a little, adding some sugar to his tea before taking a sip, sliding Will's cup in front of him. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "That isn't alright." Pausing, he touched the brim and laughed a little. "Thanks, Will," he grinned, adjusting it slightly. "I haven't worn it for a while."

**"I- it looks good on you." the demon murmured and lowered his gaze, blushing a little. Mason... he hadn't always been terrible to him, at first he had been a wonderful person, a friend even, and Will had developed a crush. Even now, after everything the guy had done to him, there was a part of him that still had feelings for him. And here was Dipper, being nice and wearing his master's face. It didn't only affect Will in a bad way, but he knew he needed to hide that, he didn't want to make Dipper uncomfortable and have him kicking him out of the shack.**

Dipper paused, swallowing thickly. ".. Thanks.." Oh, shit, this was not going to be good. Here was Will, looking exactly like Bill, being shy and sweet and emotional and- blushing. While his Bill, who he was in love with, no matter what he said, wanted nothing to do with him. Wanted him dead, in fact. This could only end badly, but he couldn't... do anything about it. He wasn't going to get rid of Will or anything, he wanted to help. Besides- hopefully nothing would come of it, Will clearly had some trauma associated with the Gleeful version. It was fine. Everything was fine. "How are you feeling?" He asked, moving back to the soup.

**"I'm... I'm a little better," Will said and took a sip of his tea. "The shower helped," he added after swallowing. The demon ran his finger over the cup's handle, fidgeting a little. "I-" he swallowed, hesitating to ask what he wanted to know. "W-why did Ford save me? I don't... Why would he risk his life for me, you don't even know me..."**

Dipper sighed a little, waiting until he had the soup set in front of them. “We wanted your help. With, uh... Bill. But it can wait, and I don’t want you focusing on that. I want to help you, first; it’s more important.” He rolled his sleeves up, freeing his hands. The binding ring clinked softly against the spoon.

**Will noticed the ring and gulped, rubbing at the spot on his wrist were his own binding piece was still attached to his skin. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew Bill well enough to know that the Pines had most likely bound him to stop him from hurting people and that was okay, they weren't like the Gleeful, he could trust them... Will opened his eyes and tried to focus on something else, his eyes immediately drawn to Dipper's tattoos. "Is that Bill's Zodiac Wheel?"**

Dipper winced slightly but decided not to draw any more attention to the ring then he had already accidentally done. That would be an explanation for later, not something he wanted to get into now. Glancing up, he nodded with a smile. “Yeah, it is. I can show you the rest of it if you want?”

**Will nodded. "I'd like that, I never saw his." The demon wondered if the Pines had ever used it against him. In his case there had been no need, Ford had easily made him fall into his charming trap almost as soon as they had met. He was the one to bind him and then, decades later, Mason had taken the amulet. To think that for a while Mason had given him hope... "Which one are you? I- I mean, Mason is one of mine so, I assumed..."**

Dipper stood, shedding the hood and adjusting the sleeve of the short sleeved shirt he wore under. Moving around the table, he showed Will the tattoo, letting him look as long as he wanted. “Oh, I’m the pine tree,” he laughed a little. “And Mabel is the shooting star.”

**"Oh, your hat, of course," Will blushed again and took another sip of his tea. Now he felt silly for asking, it was pretty obvious. The demon felt silent after that, waiting for the other to ask if he wanted to continue their conversation.**

“Yeah, that,” he laughed a little, fixing his sleeve and sliding the hoodie back on. Taking his seat, he let the silence stretch, making sure Will was eating his soup. “You’re a lot quieter then Bill. Which isn’t a bad thing,” he added quickly.

**Will blushed again. He would control it if he knew how to, but he didn't, he had always worn his heart on his sleeve, he didn't know any better. "Bill always has something to say, I don't," he said and smiled shyly at Dipper. "And I- I wasn't allowed to talk all that much."**

Dipper couldn’t help but find the blush adorable, and incredibly endearing. It made him smile, something soft and sweet. “Bill can’t go that long without hearing the sound of his own voice,” he chuckled- and the smile wasn’t helping his problems. “You are here, okay? You don’t have to, but you’re allowed to.”

**"Thanks," Will murmured and smiled. He really was too trusting and he knew that usually got him in trouble, but he couldn't help it. The demon wondered exactly what did the Pines need his help with, what was about Bill that they couldn't handle with the bond, but he didn't want to know just yet. Call him selfish, but for once he wanted to focus on himself a little. "When can I see Bill?" He still had to ask that, because while he didn't want to know exactly what the other needed of him, he did want to see his double. It had been so long and yes, Bill didn't like him all that much, but he did like Bill, he still owed him.**

“No thanks needed,” he smiled back. He liked Will, a lot, part of him wondered how hard it would be to save him completely- to make it so that he never had to go back to that place, to the people that hurt him this way. He deserved better. “I’m going to tell him you’re here tonight,” he explained, standing to take his bowl to the sink. “And we were thinking you could see him in a couple of days. When you’re a bit.. better? Do you want more soup?”

**"Oh." Will's shoulders dropped. "Of course." It made sense, even if Bill didn't like him all that much, they were still the same person in a way, Bill wouldn't like seeing him like this. "Please," Will added and offered Dipper his empty plate.**

Dipper filled the plate, setting it down again and resting a hand on Will’s shoulder again. “Maybe he would act different with you, but since he hasn’t been allowed to physically hurt people, he’s... gotten very good and verbally destroying them. And I don’t want you to have to go through that, Will, you’ve been through enough. I want you to have some time to recover before the conversation,” he explained gently, squeezing his shoulder before taking a seat.

**Will froze when Dipper touched him and until the moment he let go of his shoulder he could barely register the words he was saying. He got the general idea though, the human was worried that Bill would hurt him. It was sweet. "I- I- N-No..." Dammit, his voice was shaking again. He had to look away from Dipper. "Bill wouldn't hurt me..." He might think he was a waste of space, but he knew he wouldn't truly say it out loud.**

Dipper shouldn’t have done that. He had to keep that in mind, Will would not want the contact he had gotten so used to giving to Bill. Dipper had been here- not exactly the same, but something similar- and he couldn’t focus on that. “Shoot, sorry,” he said gently, sliding his hands under the table. “No touching, I’ll keep that in mind. And he wouldn’t, physically, but... I don’t know, Will, it just seems like a pretty big risk...”

**Will shook his head. "I know he wouldn't, he's helped me more than once, I-I owe him." He knew it was difficult to believe, considering how Bill acted around everyone else, but Will had always known he could trust the demon, he just never went asking him for help because he was sure the other thought he was only a pain.**

Dipper nodded slowly, an idea coming to mind. “Alright. I believe you,” he said with a gentle smile. “So I’ll talk to him tonight, yeah? And maybe you can see him in the morning. Is that okay?” Will seemed naive, yes, but if he was this adamant about how Bill would treat him... he had to trust him.

**Will nodded and smiled once again. "I'd like that." He said and then focused back on his soup. He didn't really need to eat but he definitely enjoyed it. Will had learned all the horrible things that came with having a human form -most of them involved pain of some sort-, getting to enjoy the good things for once was great.**

Dipper’s smile widened, and he nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do.” He let the silence stretch on again, letting Will enjoy the peace and calm that came with having a safe place to rest and recover. Finally, though, he opened the subject he had been dreading. “I also want you to know,” he started slowly, “that if you want to talk about what happened.. I’ll listen.”

**Will swallowed the last spoonful of soup and looked up at Dipper. "I..." He sighed and fidgeted with the edge of his sweater. "I'm not ready now, but may- maybe some other day?" He wanted to get a little more used to being around this Dipper before he told him anything.**

“That’s fine,” he assured quickly. “Take your time. You never have to tell me, if you don’t want. I’m just offering. I’ve, uh... been through a lot. So I’ll understand some of it. Not everything, but some. So if you ever want to.. or if you need sleep and start getting nightmares, and you want someone that won’t ask questions, I’m around.”

**"You're really nice, Dipper Pines," Will said and then he stood up and grabbed his and Dipper's plate. He was used to doing the dishes in the Gleeful manor so it was almost out of instinct that he carried them to the sink and started washing them. The only difference now was that he found himself wanting to do it, as a way to thank Dipper for everything he had done for him already.**

“So are you, Will,” he hummed, deciding that he wasn’t going to argue about the dishes. It was one thing if Will really wanted to wash their plates he could. “Is your last name Cipher, too, or is it something different?”

**Will laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess you could say it is," he told Dipper and looked over his shoulder with a smile. It was amazing just how much better he looked now, after that shower and just by being away from the Gleefuls. "You do know that's not our real name though, right? It's just a name we came up with."**

He laughed along with him. “I didn’t really think you were just born with the name Cipher, no. It’s clever, though, I really like it.” He stops then, coming over to dry the dishes and put them away. “Any plans when you’re done with this?” Dipper asked, glancing at the clock to see how late it was.

**"I..." Will glanced at Dipper and then back at the dishes. "Not really, I was planning to stay in the room." Now that he had permission he wanted to go through the books, lay down, read something, relax... "Did you have plans? I- I guess I could do what you wanted," he murmured, lowering his gaze a little. Dipper had done a lot for him and he wanted to make sure the other knew he was grateful.**

Dipper shook his head quickly, turning to face Will. “I was just curious, Will. You’re more than welcome to go to your room and do whatever you want to do. That’s really okay. I promise.” Gently moving a little closer, he nudged him away from the sink. He didn’t speak again until they were no longer touching. “Go on.” He was gentle and kind, a little like a parent with a shy child, or like he was talking to a spooked horse. “You’ve done enough, Will. Go ahead.”

**Will glanced over his shoulder at the door and then back at Dipper. "I didn't finish..." he said, but he supposed he didn't really have to finish, that was okay. "Thanks, I'll... We'll talk later, okay?" He promised the human before leaving the kitchen and heading to his room to relax for a little bit, enjoy some time alone without watching over his shoulder, waiting for someone to drag him somewhere to torture him or use him or both.**

“That’s okay. You did enough,” he said soothingly, smiling encouragingly. “Sure, we can talk whenever you want.” Watching him leave, Dipper let out a soft sigh of relief, finishing the dishes quickly. Alright, he’d have a little time alone before needing to do anything... like talking to Bill.

* * *

**_Pine Treeeeeee, it's later already, I'm getting a little impatient,_ ** **Bill told Dipper later that day, once the sun had set behind the trees.** **_You didn't even come down to say hi today, I'm starting to think you've replaced me._ **

_ I thought you were still ignoring me, _ he commented, smirking a little.  _ But I’m coming, just hang on.  _ Sighing softly, Dipper made his way to the lab, heading down to visit.. not quite his demon.

**_Maybe, but that doesn't mean you get to ignore me as well,_ ** **Bill said and laughed a little.**

**When the human finally made it to the lab, Bill found himself feeling strange, like he had missed him. Immediately he tried to suppress that feeling, making the spark die before it got too big.**

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” he answers out loud as he approached the cell, smile bright. “I’m sorry I haven’t come down, Bill. I got busy and I didn’t think you’d want to see me.”

**"I don't, but you're the only thing that keeps me sort of entertained down here so..." Bill rolled his eye and leaned against the door. "Do I get to come out for a bit?"**

Dipper chuckled. “There are that people around. You just refuse to see them either. Uh, sure.” He came over to unlock the door, opening it.

**Bill walked out of the call and sat went to sit by one of the tables. The chains were easier to carry now and he knew he had to thank Dipper for that, but like hell, he would do it. "So, who's the new guest?"**

Dipper watched, please to see that he didn’t seem to have struggled with the chains. Letting out a breath, he sat across from Bill. “Will.”

**Bill blinked a couple of times. "Will. Me. Really?" That was the reason why they had activated a portal? To get Will here of all people? That had to have been risky... "Why?" Bill narrowed his eye at Dipper. "Why did you bring him here? What's your plan, Pine Tree?"**

“Just to see him. You’ve talked about him a lot,” he said. “Or, other you. Human you. My version.” He shrugged a little. “He wants to see you. I don’t really want him to.”

**Right, just to talk to him. Bill didn't believe a word. "Well, you don't get to decide that, he does and I would like to see him too." Bill wanted to make sure he was okay, he had heard horrible things and he hoped they weren't true.  He had always tried to hide it, but he had a soft spot for... well, himself.**

“See, I would. I would bring him down, he really seems to want to talk to you. That he knows you won’t hurt him.” He leveled his eyes at Bill. “But he’s been through a lot. And I don’t want him to come down and have you verbally tear him to shreds- he already knows you don’t like him.”

**Bill huffed and rubbed his eye. "Jeez, that kid hasn't changed a bit, still as self-conscious as ever." He couldn't believe he was going to have to admit this to Dipper. "I do like him, he's the closest thing I have to a family," Bill said and looked away. "Who do you think saved him from his own, huh? He was too chicken-shit to destroy his stupid dimension himself so I did it."**

Dipper arched an eyebrow, fighting a smile for a moment before giving up. “See, you were doing so well, and then just ruined it with the last sentence,” he pointed out, laughing a little. Another moment and he sobered up. “I don’t think you completely understand though, Bill. You saying things like that when he comes down could be the worst thing for him. You don’t know what the Gleefuls did to him.”

**"I've... heard rumors..." He wasn't stupid, he knew Will probably was a mess. Hell he felt guilty for not helping him when he started hearing the rumors but... he had other plans and a powerful dream demon like Will should have been able to deal with the Gleefuls on his own. "I can behave around him, I like him, it's not like with you. I hate you, so I choose not to behave." The demon glanced at Dipper playfully and placed a hand on his thigh. "With you it's fun..." He said and slowly moved his hand up.**

Dipper caught his hand. “That’s all I wanted to know,” he chuckled. “Sorry, I don’t have sexual relations with people who hate me,” he teased, pressing a kiss to Bill’s hand before letting go.

**Bill rolled his eye. "And I don't have sex, I was just trying to get you to panic. You're always fun when you panic," Bill jumped down from the chair and returned to his cell since he had the feeling Dipper would send him there anyway. "You don't have to worry about me hurting your new boyfriend, he'll be fine."**

Dipper left the door open, didn’t even bother getting up from his chair. At that moment, he didn’t care where Bill was. “He’s not my new boyfriend,” he sighed, dropping his eyes to the table.

**“If you say so...” Bill laughed. It seemed like he had found yet another thing to bother Dipper with, perfect.**

Dipper rolled his eyes, standing. "I'll bring him down in the morning. Do you want me to leave?"

**Bill shrugged. “I don’t care if you stay or don’t,” the demon told him and then grabbed his ball and started bouncing it against the wall.**

Dipper huffed a breath, moving to stand by the cell door. "Alright, well. I'm going for a walk, do you want to come? Since you're dying of boredom."

**“Mmm... sure,” the demon tried not to seem too eager but the truth was he really wanted to stretch his legs a little bit. Or well, just float around and get some fresh air. “Do I need to walk though?”**

Dipper had turned away to walk back to the stairs and paused. Frowning slightly, he turned back to Bill. “I... do I have to give you permission to float? If, so, you can..?”

**"I thought you knew everything about this spell already," Bill pointed out, rolling his eye. "Yes. I need permission, that way you only give me access to a really small fraction of my power that I can only use for that. I shouldn't even be explaining this to you..." he muttered that last part as he walked out of the cell to follow Dipper upstairs.**

“If you hadn’t explained that to me, I wouldn’t have known,” he said gently. “Because of course, you can float, Bill.” He focused on the spell, the magic, and let some go.

**"Great!" Bill started floating then, his legs feeling the relief. This form really wasn't made to walk around everywhere. "Where are we going then? Another trip down your memory lane? 'Cause you know that's not going to work."**

“I’m just taking a walk,” Dipper hummed. “Just going through the woods to enjoy one of the last few warm days we’ll have. Nothing else.” He started up the stairs, holding the door open for the demon before leaving the shack.

**"I can get behind that," the demon said and followed Dipper outside. Amazingly, he kept silent, though then again, he had been doing that lately. Dipper probably believed he was ignoring him, but the truth was that he had been trying to keep his and Dipper's interactions to a minimum to reduce the risk of developing feelings for the other again.**

“Thought you would.” He smiled a little as they headed out. 

The peace was nice, he could almost pretend it was like before this disaster. Just them, in the woods, enjoying the peace and each other’s company. Almost. But the silence wasn’t comfortable.. and they weren’t close. It was heart wrenching and agonizing and he wished with all his heart that he could go back. That he had never found that ritual. “Are you okay?” He asked softly.

**Bill glanced at the human curiously and floated a little closer to him. "Oh, I'm great, I love being bound to you and not being able to use my powers!" He said sarcastically, circling Dipper's head. "Why do you ask?"**

Dipper didn’t respond to the sarcasm, paying more attention to the ground then Bill circling around his head. “You’re just... very quiet. This is the longest you’ve gone without talking.”

**"I thought you would enjoy that, make up your mind, Pine Tree. You want me to bother you or not?" Sure, Bill preferred to have as little interaction as possible, but he couldn't have the other believing something was wrong with him, he couldn't know that maybe he had begun to feel a little affected by their history.**

"I never said I had a problem with you talking," he pointed out, looking up to focus on the demon. "I tease you about it sometimes, but I never actually wanted you to be quiet. Also, why would you care if I did?"

**“I don’t care, I just...” Bill groaned and looked away. He felt like he was doing everything wrong, he would give himself away, Dipper would find out that maybe he wasn’t doing all that good at hiding his emotions and he would count that as a win and get cocky and the demon couldn’t allow that to happen. “Well, if you actually want me to talk then I won’t.”**

Dipper smiled a little, not letting Bill see it. This was a little bit.. good. Bill had a lot of the same ticks as before, little things that Dipper had learned when they had done this the first time. Things that told him.. maybe Bill was more attached then he was saying. "But.. when you thought I didn't want you to talk, you weren't. So which is it, Bill?"

**Bill glared at Dipper and floated to be in front of him, eye red. "Look Pine Tree, I don't need to explain anything to you, so don't piss me off, okay?" The demon then turned around and floated as far away from the other as the chains would allow him, preferring to keep distance.**

Dipper stopped walking for just a moment as Bill floated away, breath hitching ever so softly. Damn, he had pushed too far and now... now there was nothing to go on. Shaking his head, he started forward again, letting the silence stretch.

**The demon tried to enjoy his time out of the cell as much as possible and ignored the human's presence -though there was a part of him that... sort of liked that he wasn't alone? but that part of him didn't matter-. Soon it got dark and the demon, more worried about Will than anything, finally approached Dipper again. "Don't you think it's time to head back?" He had no idea the state Will was in. Did he need to eat? Sleep? Certainly, he needed someone to take care of him, he always did, and Bill didn't think the other residents of the shack would do that.**

Dipper blinked, looking around at their surroundings. He wasn't that worried- they were safe where they were, and he was sure Ford and Mabel were taking excellent care of Will, so if he wanted... he could stay out for another hour, at least. Either way, it was going to take at least half an hour to walk back to the Shack. And it was starting to get cold. "Hmm... I suppose," he said agreeably, turning on his heel to follow the path back.

**Bill sighed in relief. What could he say? He really cared about the other demon, he wanted to make sure he was okay now that he actually could.**

Dipper smiled a little. “You’re really worried about him, aren’t you?” He asked gently. Not making fun or teasing, even a little bit. 

**The demon huffed. "That's none of your business," he mumbled, keeping his eye looking straight ahead.**

He nodded a little. "It's okay if you are, you know. Sounds like you've been pretty protective of him."

**"He's me, you'd be protective of yourself too if the other you had the self-preservation instincts of a newborn kitten," Bill said, still not looking at Dipper.**

"Well, I would. Because I have feelings and I care about what happens to others. You've said very clearly that you have no idea what that is." Dipper smiled slowly, teasing. 

* * *

**Will was more than okay. Mabel had found him and, while at first, he had been a little scared of her, it took less than an hour for him to feel comfortable around her and actually start talking and sharing stories.**

**Mabel Pines was nothing like Mabel Gleeful, they really had nothing in common, unlike Dipper who did have a thing or to in common with his Mason. It was way easier to trust her than it was to trust everyone else and Will had no problem seeing a friend in her.**

Mabel was incredibly pleased with how well Will adjusted to her being around- it was barely an hour into their interaction and they were practically old friends. She’d pulled out her funniest stories of the mishaps around Gravity Falls, not touching anything that had an unhappy ending or even risked veering too close. Which meant, currently, she was talking about the gnomes trying to make her their queen- and making friendship bracelets at the kitchen table, something she hadn’t done in years.

**"Gnomes, really? That sounds like an adventure. How did you get rid of them? They are usually incredibly persistent, aren't they?" Will finished his friendship bracelet for Mabel and took her hand to pull it closer and be able to wrap it around her wrist. Will couldn't help but think that he and Bill had ended up in the wrong dimensions... If he had been with the Pines he would have been so much happier... and he knew Bill would have loved to meet the Gleefuls, they had a lot in common... Mason would have been happy to take over the dimension by his side. Thinking about that made the demon feel sad. Why had life been so unfair to him?**

"They were crazy persistent," she laughed, holding out her arm to make it easier for Will to tie the bracelet around her wrist. She was nearly finished with the one she was making, one that almost perfectly matched except for the added blue triangle charms. "So I said I would marry them, and attacked them with a leaf blower." Smiling, she slid back to tie Will's bracelet around his wrist as well.

**"I'd have loved to see that," Will said, giving Mabel a sad smile before inspecting the bracelet. He loved it. "Thanks for this, Mabel," he added and then looked out through the kitchen window, grinning when he saw Dipper and Bill returning. He was excited to see Bill again. His smile faded away when he noticed the chains though and he looked down at the shackles still around his own wrists. He had tried to get rid of them, but he hadn't been able to. The bond was weak, but it was still there. Will sighed and glanced back at Mabel. "May I ask you a question?"**

"We'll have adventures while you're here, don't you worry!" She laughed, nodding with a sweet smile. "You're welcome, Will." Standing, Mabel started gathering the materials they had been using, cleaning things up so they could use the table again. Taking a seat again, she smiled a little. "Yeah, of course. What's up?"

**Will glanced at the approaching couple once again and sighed. "Bill... He did something bad, didn't he? That's why Dipper bound him?" He knew that was probably the case and it was okay if it was, he simply wanted to be one-hundred percent sure.**

* * *

**"You're testing my patience, Pine Tree..." Bill warned the other. "You want me to head down to the lab now, right?"**

Dipper shrugged a little. "Stan isn't going to be around, so would you rather stay upstairs? I'm sure Will and Mabel are around, doing something."

**Bill hesitated for a moment and glanced at the window that led to the kitchen. He saw Mabel and Will, clearly having a really good time together, and decided that maybe it would be better if he didn't crash their party. "Thinking better of it, I'd rather stay down in the lab, don't wanna deal with Shooting Start right now."**

Dipper nodded. “Alright, if that’s what you want,” he hummed, still soft and gentle. “I won’t call attention to us when we go in, then.” He headed for the door once more. 

**"Alright." Bill floated into the house and turned around to face Dipper. He hesitated for a moment. "Just... tell Will to come downstairs when he's ready," he said and then went to the lab, got into the cell and laid down on the blanket fort, waiting and hoping that maybe Will would come later that day.**

Dipper smiled softly, nodding again. “Oh course,” he assured, watching him leave and shutting the door to the lab. Letting out a slow breath, he shook his head and moved towards the kitchen. 

* * *

Mabel sighed slowly, nodding after a few moments. "So.. what happened is... When Bill came back, he was completely human, and him and Dipper had a relationship for a while. But Bill wanted his powers back, of course, as anyone would. So they did a ritual, and originally, Dipper only had the bond ring on and everything just in case something went wrong. And when it was finished, Bill didn't remember anything and instantly attacked Dipper. He made the bond to stay alive and keep us safe," she explained quietly. "... Dipper hates it. He wishes they didn't need it."

**"Oh... I see... that's... bad, I'm so sorry Dipper had to go through that." Will found it hard to believe that Bill would have had a real relationship with someone, but he supposed anything was possible, right? Now he felt guilty though, for thinking about Dipper in a not so friendly way earlier, even though he couldn't avoid it.**

Mabel nodded sadly, sighing a little. “He was crushed when it happened. And he’s still trying to bring his Bill back, but from what I can tell... it’s not really working.”

**"I imagine he must feel terrible about it..." That had to be why they had brought him here, right? Dipper had said he needed help with Bill, though Will couldn't think of a way for him to help.**

“He does... I’m worried about him.” Mabel sighed a little, perking up when her twin entered the room. “Hey, Dipper! How was your walk?”

“Hey, Mabel. Will. It was nice, thanks,” he said, talking a seat at the table.

**Will kept his eyes on the entrance to the kitchen, hoping to see Bill float into the room after Dipper, but when he didn't the dream demon sighed and lowered his head a little. He supposed Bill didn't want to see him as much as he did, which was to be expected, actually. "Mabel was telling me about the time gnomes tried to marry her," Will mentioned after a moment and glanced at Dipper, putting on a fake smile.**

Dipper laughed a little, nodding as he smiled fondly at his sister. “That summer was wild,” he agreed, before glancing back at Will and his obviously fake smile. “Will? Bill wanted me to let you know he went back to the lab. And that you can come down and see him when you’re ready, okay?”

**"Oh, really?" The dream demon perked up at that, relieved to find out that maybe he was wrong and Bill did want to see him. "Maybe I could go after dinner? I mean, I don't really have to have dinner with you," he started saying, lowering his gaze again and mumbling. "I don't need to eat, not really, but I'd like to."**

Dipper reached across the table, stopping just short of touching the demon. “Will,” he murmured, “if you want to eat with us, you’re welcome to. No one is ever going to say no. And it’s up to you when you want to go down. Just let me know and I'll unlock it for you.”

**Will noticed Dipper stopped right before touching him and that made him smile for real. Dipper was really considerate and it didn't seem to bother him that he needed to be careful around him, he really thought about his feelings first. "I'd love to have dinner with you and the Stans, if you really don't mind." He had never had a family dinner and he definitely wanted to change that.**

“I wouldn’t have offered if anyone was going to have a problem with it,” he assured, sitting back and moving his hand away. “I think it’s Ford’s turn to cook tonight,” he added, smiling a little.

**It was then that Ford and Stan walked into the kitchen, the first once laughing. "It's actually Stan's turn, but if Will's going to be eating with us I would hate to subject him to his cooking." Everyone laughed, including Will, who's laugh was shy, like he wasn't sure yet if he was allowed to join in the family's fun.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! This chapter is rather long, I didn't know where to cut it... Hope you're excited to see how Will's presence will change things! - Alga


	8. Sometimes He Cares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Bill talk. Dipper and Will bond.

**It was incredible how welcome the Pines made Will feel, he had never felt like this around anyone, not even Bill, but well, Bill rarely made anyone feel like they were welcomed around him... Unless he was trying to trick them, of course.**

**Dinner was great, Will really enjoyed the food and company. Little by little he began feeling better, like the scars that the Gleefuls had opened in his heart and mind were finally starting to heal. When dinner was done, Will felt exhausted and, while he had wanted to visit Bill earlier, he ended up deciding against that. He had had such a great time... He didn't want to give Bill the opportunity to ruin it, even though he knew the other would never consciously do it... It was just that... Bill could sometimes say the wrong things at the wrong time.**

**Will told everyone good night and went to his room with the idea of having one nice night of sleep.**

Dipper wished him a good night, rising as well. He wanted to go to the lab, let him know what was happening. Moving down the stairs slowly, he approached the cell. “Will fell asleep,” he said gently, to start the conversation. “He had dinner with us and was really exhausted. He needs the rest. I’ll make sure to bring him down in the morning.”

**"You came down here just to tell me that?" The demon gave him a boring look. "You didn't have to bother, whenever Will wants to come, he'll come, I don't need explanations, Pine Tree, they only make me think that you might be keeping him from seeing me." Which he knew wasn't true, Bill had the feeling that Will being here had something to do with Dipper's plan to 'bring him back', so he had no reasons to keep him away.**

“I didn’t want you to think he had forgotten. Or decided that you weren’t worth it,” he said quietly, shrugging a little. “But I’ll keep it to myself next time, I guess.”

**"You don't have to reassure me, Pine Tree, I'm not him, no matter how badly you want me to be." He meant he wasn't like Will, he wasn't an open book, he wasn't going to fall for him or the first person that treated him right.**

Dipper tensed slightly, turning away from him. “I don’t want you to be like Will,” he said, choosing the second thought that had come through his head. “I’m just trying to be a decent person, so let me.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he hunched his shoulders slightly as he walked to the stairs.

**Bill rolled his eyes and laid down on the blankets, looking up at the ceiling. "Keep trying, Pine Tree." It wasn't going to work, Bill would make sure of it, no matter what Dipper did, he wasn't going to let himself become weak again.**

* * *

**Will had found out the night before that he could have dreams of his own now since the connection with Mason was really weak at the moment. It had been nice to dream for the first time and he was looking forward to doing it again that night... Of course, because life was never that wonderful, this time it wasn't just a simple dream, it was a nightmare.**

**The dream demon woke up screaming in the middle of the night and scrambled out of bed to curl in the closest corner of the room, arms wrapped around his legs, keeping his knees pressed to his chest.**

Dipper and Ford had nearly crashed into each other on their way to investigate the scream- Dipper was adamant that he could take care of it, that he’d get help if he needed. Rapidly making his way to the demon’s room, he knocked lightly. “Will?” He called, not opening the door yet. “Will, can I come in?”

**Will didn't answer. He had his eyes closed and kept mumbling to himself the words 'please' and 'no more'. He usually got like this after sessions with Mason or when the twins would ask too much of his magic, leaving him completely dry and hurting. The demon hadn't been prepared for the nightmare, he hadn't thought his own mind would attack him like this, after all, he was supposed to be the one controlling it, a dream demon... How ironic that he didn't have control over his own dreams.**

Dipper opened the door, glancing around the room before finding the cowering dream demon. "Will?" He called gently, slowly crossing the room and kneeling in front of him, a couple of feet away from him, with no danger of touching him until he was ready. "Will, shhh, you're okay, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you anymore."

**Will focused on Dipper's gentle voice and slowly he began to come back to reality, taking deep slow breaths. When he finally looked up at Dipper he gulped. His hair was a mess and was no longer covering the left side of his face, revealing the scar where his All-Seeing-Eye used to be. "I-I- He..." the demon tried to express what had happened. "He was- I-"**

Dipper held his hands up, making a calming motion. "Hey, hey," he said soothingly, wincing slightly at the scared up place where his eye should have been. Okay.. okay, he could worry about that later. This was more important. "Easy, slow. We can talk in a little bit, okay? Is it okay if I touch you?" He asked.

**Will hesitated for a moment before giving a small nod. He needed the contact, a gentle touch, anything that would get his mind off the memory of Mason's hands on him. Dipper wasn't him, Dipper wouldn't hurt him, he was here to help him, he understood.**

Dipper slowly moved forward, taking one of Will's hands in his own, squeezing gently. "You're okay," he murmured soothingly. The other hand reached up, each move slow and steady, to rest on Will's shoulder.

**Will took a few more deep breath and nodded, then he moved closer to Dipper. "The floor is cold," he murmured and glanced at the bed. They would be more comfortable there.**

Dipper slid closer, smiling a little. "Yeah, it is. Come on, up we get." Standing, he pulled Will up with him, moving him back to the bed and sitting next to him. "Would you like a hug?"

**Will nodded a little, keeping his eye on his lap. He felt terrible for waking up the human in the middle of the night and dragging him into his problems, it wasn't fair for the other. "I-I'm sorry, you we-were sleeping. I didn't mean to..."**

Dipper slid closer and wrapped an arm around Will's shoulders, drawing him into his side with a half hug. Shaking his head a little, he smiled gently. "It's okay. I volunteered for this, remember? I'm here to help you."

**The demon nodded a little and relaxed against Dipper's side. "You're a good person, Dipper. I'm- I'm really glad Ford brought me here." The demon sighed and tried to fix his hair so that it would be hiding the left side of his face once again.**

Smiling a little, the human nodded. "Thank you... So am I. It’s good that you're here." Reaching up, he gently ran his fingers through the blue strands, smoothing them down into place again. "Do you want to talk about it now?" He asked, several moments later.

**The dream demon sighed and closed his eye. "It was... I was like a memory except it was a little different. I was in Mason's room and he-" Bill shivered and gulped- " he was kissing me and then- then he started hu-hurting me again."**

Wincing a little, he tucked the dream demon into his side, rubbing a hand over his arm slowly. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, blinking away memories of the nightmare Bill had given him. "He can't hurt you anymore, okay? I'll do whatever I have to prevent that."

**Will buried his face in Dipper's neck and took a deep breath. He felt safe with him, even if he looked like the guy that had broken him into a million pieces in more than one occasion. The guy that had kissed him only when he needed something out of him, that had put him back together only to enjoy tearing him apart again. Dipper looked like him, but he obviously wasn't him, he was safe. "Stay? Please?" The demon pleaded after a long moment.**

Dipper closed his eyes, holding Will close and giving him as much comfort as he needed. Wanting to soothe and help, fix the damage an alternate version of himself had done. And.. and maybe there was a little selfishness because, with his eyes closed, he could almost pretend it was Bill. The human was quick to banish the thought, refusing to go down that path. Pulling away slowly, he smiled gently and nodded. "Of course," he said softly. "As long as you want. Would laying down be better?"

**Will nodded and moved away. "I want to try and sleep again," he said. "I just... I'm afraid to have another nightmare." He was hoping Dipper's presence would help him since he felt so safe around him. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to though, I don't want you to feel pressured, I just... I think it'll be easier." He wanted the other to hold him and don't let go. He knew he shouldn't want those things, Dipper wasn't his, but he couldn't help it. They would only sleep, there was nothing wrong with that.**

Dipper's heart ached for him. Without saying anything, he wrapped his arms around Will and pulled him back so they could lay down. In the next moment, he had the blanket up around their shoulders, Will tucked into his chest. "Shhh, Will," he said softly. "Get some rest. I won't go anywhere."

**Will allowed himself to relax in Dipper's arms and finally close his eyes. "Thank you," he murmured, snuggling as close to the other as was physically possible. It took him a little bit longer this time, but the demon was able to fall asleep again and he didn't have another nightmare.**

Dipper smiled a little, holding Will as tight as he dared until the demon had fallen asleep. His grip loosened slightly, but he didn’t move, drifting into his own dreamless sleep.

* * *

**When Will woke up the next morning he felt like he was still dreaming. He had never woken up snuggled against someone, arms around his body. It felt nice, really nice, and the demon didn't want to get out of bed. Will rolled over so that he was facing the sleeping Dipper. He smiled at the sight of him, so peaceful. Gently he traced his features.**

Dipper was out, his deepest sleep in a while- it had been far too long since the last time he’d fallen asleep with another body against his, just sleep. He stirred slightly as slow fingers traced along his face, eyes cracking open with a sleepy smile. “Mornin, Will...”

**Will smiled back and moved Dipper’s hair out of the way to reveal his birthmark. He wondered why the guy kept it hidden, though he didn’t really mind since it was one of the things that separated him from his Mason. “Good Morning, Dipper,” he said back and then he snuggled a little closer, nuzzling against the human’s chest.**

Dipper lightly brushed his fingers against Will’s back, letting him do what he wanted. He and Bill both had some sort of fascination with his birthmark... but Will called him by his nickname. Different from Bill and his ‘sapling’ and Mason. “How’d you sleep?” He asked softly, bowing his head to nuzzle against his gently.

**“Better,” Will said and then moved away a little to give the other some space. “You? I didn’t kick you, did I?” At first, Mason had made him believe that the reason why he never wanted him to spend the night in his bed was that he would kick him in his sleep so he hoped he hadn’t done that to Dipper.**

Dipper loosened his arms so Will could move but didn’t actually remove them. “Hmm? No. You didn’t move the entire night, don’t worry,” he assured, smiling again. “I slept well- better than I have in a while, actually.”

**Will smiled widely. “Really? Was it because of me?” He asked, excited about the idea of his presence helping Dipper sleep as well, it made him feel a little less selfish, a little less guilty about asking the human to stay the night.**

Dipper nodded, his own smile widening in response. “Yeah, it was because of you,” he answered. His own tiny amount of selfishness; sleeping with someone curled up with him, someone like Bill but not quite.

**“I’m glad I could help too,” Will said and rested his head on Dipper’s chest, closing his eyes once again. The human’s heartbeat was the most soothing sound he had ever heard.**

Dipper nodded, smiling a little as a hand moved to gently run through the blue strands on the back of his head. Careful not to disturb what covered his face.

**Will stayed silent for a long moment, basking in the other’s warmth. Only when he heard the human’s stomach growl he moved away and stretched a little. “You need to have breakfast,” he pointed out and yawned. “I can prepare something for you if you want?” He had often had to cook for the Gleefuls, so there was little that he couldn’t do.**

Dipper laughed a little, sitting up and stretching. “Sure, if you want to. I can cook too, though, if you do want to,” he hummed, rubbing his eyes and rising from the bed.

**“I want to,” Will told him with a smile and then he got out of bed and picked his clothes for the day. “I...” He glanced at Dipper once he was done picking, a light blush on his cheeks. “Do you mind? I- I’ll be in the kitchen in a bit?”**

Dipper blushed faintly. “Yeah, Of course, I should have thought of that,” he laughed weakly, leaving the room quickly. He went up to the attic to get dressed before returning to the kitchen.

**Will was done pretty fast and he got to the kitchen before Dipper did. It was probably pretty early, the demon realized since nobody else seemed to be awake. Still, they would eventually wake up, so he would make breakfast for everyone.**

Dipper smiled a little when he came in, taking a seat at the table. Seven... so either Ford was still asleep, or he had one out already. The others were definitely still out. "I was thinking about going into the woods this afternoon and look for birds," he hummed, resting his head in his hand. "Do you want to come?"

**“I’d love to!” Will put a cup of tea in front of Dipper and then he went back to making French toast for him. “Afterwards I can go see Bill. I hope he didn’t mind that I didn’t go yesterday...”**

Dipper thanked him for the tea, taking a sip with a satisfied hum. "You could see him before, too, if you wanted. I won't go till it warms up a bit; fall is hitting us hard this year. He didn't seem upset when I told him that you had fallen asleep, but then again, he likes to pretend that nothing ever bothers him, so that doesn't mean much."

**Will’s shoulders dropped a little and he pouted. He really hoped Bill wouldn't be mad... But Dipper was right, he didn’t usually let people know how he truly felt about things, he pretended a lot, lied a lot... “Maybe going before will be for the best then, I shouldn’t wait too much longer and if I’m tired again once we get back...” Will didn’t want Bill to get mad at anyone and definitely not at him. The demon sighed and finished making the toasts. He put a couple of a plate for Dipper and him and the rest he kept them separate so that the others could take them once they woke up. The demon then sat in front of Dipper with his own tea in his hands.**

"Yeah, maybe. He seemed pretty worried about you yesterday," he said gently, hoping to soothe his nerves a little. "I think he knows that you're okay, though. Oh, thank you." Smiling a little, he sat up straighter to take a bite, humming softly. "This is really good, Will."

**“Really? Thanks for telling me,” Will said and blushed. The Gleefuls never let him know if the food was okay, he usually ended up finding out after dinner, when one of them returned to his cell to punish him if it wasn’t... he had tried to get as good as cooking as was possible so as to avoid those moments. “He really is worried about me? Did he seem... annoyed by me being here?” He asked Dipper after a moment, lowering his gaze.**

"Yeah, really. You're welcome," he smiled, finding the blush incredibly endearing and adorable. Shaking his head a little, he turned back to his plate, savoring the French toast that had been placed in front of him. Glancing up, he cleared his throat slightly. "I don't think so. He seemed... worried that you weren't okay. And maybe a little pleased? It was hard to tell."

**“Pleased that I was here or that I wasn’t okay?” The later sounded a lot more like Bill, but not really when it came to him. If Bill would be pleased that he wasn’t okay then he wouldn’t have bothered to make sure he would be okay in the past, right? “I just... I don’t want to be a burden to him, I know he- he usually gets frustrated when talking to me...”**

"Pleased that you were here. That you were safe," he explained, watching him closely. "He would have just told me if he was pleased you weren't okay when I asked about it since he can't lie, instead of avoiding the questions." Reaching across the table, he stopped just short of Will's hand. "I think that's just him. I doubt you're a burden."

**“Does he get frustrated around you too?” Will asked and tilted his head to the side, making his hair move out of the way for a brief moment before he straightened up again and took a bite of his toast.**

Dipper laughed, nodding. "Oh, yeah, he hates talking to me. I ask too many questions, push too hard. Try and get him to react too often. It's a bit of a mess."

**“May I ask... Why?” The dream demon enquired, looking down at his coffee. “Why do you try so hard with him?” Will had the feeling he knew why, Mabel had told him, Dipper and Bill used to be together, it made sense. It was like him, always falling for Mason’s good moments, no matter how many times he went back to hurt him, just because he wished things would be different someday. “Doesn’t it hurt you?”**

Dipper looked down at his own mug, sighing softly. "... Yeah. It does," he murmured. It wasn't like he had a choice, though. Not really. He knew his Bill was in there somewhere, and that there had to be a solution somewhere.. He couldn't just... give up... "Because... Because I'm not willing to stop fighting until I know there isn't any solution. I spent months with him before he was like this, and... I want that back. I think I can get it, but I'm not going to stop trying until I know I can't."

**Will nodded a little and sighed. “I think I understand...” Dipper’s case was different though, Will knew Bill, he pretended he didn’t care and tried really hard not to, but he wasn’t completely heartless. There was hope for him... Or at least he hoped there was. “I’ll try to help as much as I can. That’s... That’s why you brought me here, right?”**

Dipper nodded, poking at his toast with his fork, not really that hungry anymore. It felt like they were farther away every single day. If they hadn't found anything that worked by now, would they ever? Will was their last chance, in the end- their last idea in a sea of things that had failed. "Yeah, we were... hoping that you could help.. Our running theory is that him blocking feelings is what's blocking the memories, and... I don't know, guess we had kinda hoped having you around would combat that. But... it's whatever, you don't have to help us. You get to stay whether you do or not."

**Will shook his head and took Dipper’s hand. “I want to help, it’s the least I can do,” The Pines had down a lot for him in just two days, he knew he would forever be in debt with them, he wanted to do this. “I’ll try my best, I promise, I’m not sure how much I can do, but I’ll try, for you,” he reassured the human and smiled a little.**

Dipper squeezed his hand gently, smiling- a little sadly, but it was there, and it was real. "Thanks, Will," he said softly, brushing his thumb against the back of the demon's hand for a moment, holding on just a little bit longer, before pulling away to finish what he was going to of his breakfast.

**Will offered the other a gentle smile and shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet,” he told him before focusing back on eating his breakfast. “Does Bill eat breakfast?” He asked after a moment, the thought crossing his mind. “Should I prepare more for him?”**

"Of course I will. You're offering to help, that means a lot." A look crossed Dipper's face, and he shook his head. "Not anymore. Too human for him. I've... tried..." He sighed softly, setting the fork down and pushing the half-finished meal away slightly.

**“Oh...” Will sighed and nodded, then he stood up and grabbed Dipper’s plate. “Maybe if I try... You don’t mind if I take this with me?” He asked, pointing at the leftover toast.**

Dipper shook his head. "No, course not, go ahead. Good luck." He rested his head on his arms, folded on the table.

**Will nodded once and smiled at Dipper before leaving the kitchen and heading down to the lab.**

* * *

**Bill was laying down, eye closed and whistling a melody when the sound of the door opening made him stop. “Pine Tree?” He asked, but he didn’t open his eye. “You had a very boring dream last night! Again...”**

Will paused for just a moment- maybe Dipper was wrong, and he was just going to be a burden. Shaking it off, he made his way down the stairs with a little smile. "Hi, Bill," he said quietly, approaching the cell.

**Bill opened his eye when he heard Will’s voice and he moved to a sitting position. “You’re really here... Pine Tree wasn’t lying.” If he could at the moment, he probably would have been smiling. The soft look faded away as soon as he noticed Will’s state though and his form. “Who did this to you?! Are you okay?”**

Will nodded quickly, stopping right in front of the cell, holding the plate a little tighter. "The Gleeful Twins. I'm... much better than I was. Now that I'm here instead." Pausing, he held up the plate slightly. "I made French Toast, do you want some?"

**Bill glanced at the food and back at Will. Normally he would refuse, but Will had taken the time to make this and he knew how bad the demon was at handling rejection of any kind. Bill sighed and nodded. “Alright. Come in, come in.”**

Will brightened instantly, smiling as he went to the door and opened it- Dipper hadn't even been locking it anymore. Stepping inside, he held out the plate to the other demon.

**Bill took it and patted the spot next to him, inviting Will to sit down before taking a bite of the toast. “Mmm, it’s good. Where did you learn to cook? Why even bother?”**

Will hesitated for just a moment before coming over and settling into the mess of blankets and pillows on the floor. "Oh, it was one of my jobs," he explained. "There were... consequences, if it wasn't good. So I learned. Quickly."

**Bill noticed one of the bruises on Will’s neck and had to close his eye and take a deep breath to stop himself from trying to set something on fire. He knew that if he so much as tried the chains would tighten and he didn’t want to deal with that now. “I should have gone to get you as soon as I heard the rumors.”**

Will held up his wrist, shaking the cuff of the chain slightly. “You wouldn’t have been able to do much,” he said gently, not wanting Bill to worry- not wanting to be any trouble. “They wouldn’t have let you. It’s okay, Bill- I’m fine now.”

**“I would have killed them.” Bill turned completely red for a second before he took another deep breath. He needed to focus, he couldn’t lose his temper around Will. “Arrogant pieces of shit like that, who think they can bind a powerful demon like you. It would have been easy.”**

“They’re very good at what the do,” he tried carefully, flinching away just slightly. Bill wouldn’t hurt him on purpose, but... he had been trained to respond to anger, and accidents happened. “You... you would have liked them if we had switched places, I think. They wouldn’t have had to bind you- you would have ruled the dimension together.”

**“Yes, well, that didn’t happen and they hurt you,” Bill pointed out and glanced at the other demon again, catching a glimpse behind his hair. “What..? No...” The demon slowly reached for Will’s face and gently pushed the hair out of the way. “Will...” He was going to make them pay for this, somehow, he would find them and make them pay.**

He shrugged a little, not going into it. Bill was right, there wasn’t any point in trying to convince him of something different. The touch had an instant reaction- his breathing picked up and his eye widening, and he was instantly talking. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m okay, it’s not that bad, I’m okay,” he babbled, sounding panicked.

**Bill pulled his hand away and held them up. “Okay, okay, don’t freak out on me, William,” Bill tried to sooth the other. He was doing everything he could to contain his own anger, just because he knew it wouldn’t be good for Will.**

Will smoothed his hair back into place, hands shaking slightly. Taking several breaths, he quickly wiped several tears away before they could get any farther, closing his eye. Eventually, he was calm again, opening his eye again and smiling shakily. “I’m okay.”

**The demon sighed and focused back on his toast. He finished with one big bite and sighed, He wasn’t good with this kind of situations, he only knew one way in which he could help Will and right now he couldn’t because he was bound and trapped in this dimension with the stupid Pine Tree and his family and it made him feel useless.**

Will lowered his gaze, folding his hands in his lap as the silence stretched on. He should probably say something, right? He didn’t want Bill to be upset.. but he also didn’t know how to make any of it better. If he even could.

**Bill waited a few more minutes to calm down and then he turned to face Will once again. “Well, whatever happened... I’ll deal with it, eventually, I’ll take care of it. I always take care of your problems, don’t I?” The triangle demon rubbed his eye and laid down once again, looking up at the ceiling. “Pine Tree’s been treating you right though?”**

Will hesitated before reaching out and gently touching Bill's hand. "It's fine. You don't have anything to fix, Bill, just leave it," he almost begged, watching him carefully. "I don't want anything to happen to you." Pulling back, he nodded, pleased for the change of topic. "He is. He's... really nice. And he helped me with a nightmare last night."

**Bill wasn’t going to leave it, he couldn’t. Sure, it would probably be a while till he would be able to do anything, he needed to figure out how to escape first, but he would avenge Will in the future. He wasn’t going to bring it up again though. “Oh, really? You have dreams of your own?” Bill looked down at Will’s shackles. “How did you break the bond?”**

"I have since I've been here," he explained. "I didn't while I was there, but.." He shrugged, not really wanting to go into it. "Oh... Ford. He had me jump through the rift and the chains snapped. The bond is still there, of course, but I'm less under his control now."

**“I see...” It was not a complete fix though, so far the only way to go seemed to be killing one of the pair, which was going to be pretty hard for him since Pine Tree had him on a very short leash. “Has Pine Tree told you anything about his plan? To ‘fix’ me.”**

He paused, not sure what he should say. He didn't want to lie, but he wasn't sure what Dipper wanted Bill to know. "... He said that he wasn't going to give up until he was sure that there was no way he was going to win."

**Bill rolled his eye. “There’s no way he’ll win so he should give up now. That’s not what I asked you though, not giving up is not a plan.” It was okay if Will didn’t want to tell him, he wouldn’t push him, but he would love to know if he would finally have someone that he could truly trust.**

Will fidgeted with his sleeves slightly, letting out a little sigh. Hopefully, Dipper wouldn't mind... because he wanted a better relationship with Bill. "He wants me to help," he started, keeping his gaze lowered, his voice soft. "I think the plan is to try and help you see that emotions aren't bad and go from there. But he.. he hasn’t told me very much yet... Dipper wants me better first. He said that... that it was more important that I get better.”

**Bill huffed and nodded. “At least we can agree on something...” He didn’t mind if Dipper wanted to help Will, everyone knew he would probably be better at it than him so he wouldn’t stop him. There was no way he was letting to other go through with his second plan though. “But you need to do me a favor, William,” he added after a moment. “You need to convince him that ‘helping’ me is useless because it is and seeing him try so hard is infuriating, I need him to give up.”**

Will didn’t know what to say to that, so he stayed quiet. It was easier that way like it was a lot of the time. He couldn’t get in trouble if he was silent. Frowning, he finally raised his gaze to look at his counterpart. “I don’t think that is going to work.”

**“Well, it has to, you and I need to find a way,” Bill said and sighed before meeting Will’s gaze. “Look, you wouldn’t want someone to turn you into something you don’t want to be, right? How did you feel when they forced you into... this.” Bill made a hand gesture to point at Will’s human form. “I’m simply trying to preserve myself here, is that really that bad?”**

Will lowered his eye again, shrugging his shoulders a little. Honestly, he hadn’t minded all that much; then again, he wouldn’t have minded very much Mason did at that point. “I don’t think he’s going to force you into anything, Bill.”

**“He’s planning a way to force me to change, make me remember things I don’t know, that will change me, I’m just trying to avoid that.” The demon looked away again and rubbed his eye. “I’ve always helped you, I’m just asking your help in return, once. The only thing you need to do is keep him distracted.”**

“It wouldn’t have to change you,” he pointed out quietly. “I think he just wants you to remember and then make a choice off of that. He’s not Mason, he won’t... force you,” he trailed off at the end, letting out a soft breath before slowly meeting Bill’s eye. “... Alright. I can try, Bill. I’ll do my best.”

**“You and I both know how powerful memories can be...” Bill said, a certain darkness on his tone, but then, as soon as the other agreed, the darkness went away and he was cheerful once again. “Thanks! You won’t regret it.” The demon offered his hand to Will so that they could shake on it. It was a habit more than anything, he couldn’t make a deal right now and he wasn’t even sure if they would work with himself.**

“... I know,” he sighed softly, smiling a little when Bill cheered up. He liked a happy Bill, they were better than upset ones. Reaching out, he took the other demon’s hand, squeezing lightly instead of really shaking.

**“It won’t be difficult for you to distract Pine Tree, I’m sure, I think he already developed a soft spot for you,” Bill pointed out and pulled his hand away. “He has a soft spot for broken things for some reason.” The yellow demon looked away and let out a sigh. He simply wished the human would realize that he didn’t need fixing, he was fine, more than okay and happy the way he was.**

He blushed a little, pulling his hand back and letting out a little breath. "Probably because he's also broken," he commented, tipping his head a little as he thought; careful not to move far enough to disturb the hair covering the side of his face. This was a mess.. how was he supposed to balance his promise to help Dipper and help Bill convince him that doing this was useless?

**“Mmm, yes, probably,” Bill said and grinned. “That was all me!” He added, sounding clearly proud of himself, though deep inside his chest he felt that strange feeling again. He hated it. It was guilt but he refused to give it that name.**

“I doubt that,” he said lightly. “I doubt one summer did that amount of damage. It took a lot longer than that for me. And he’s stronger than me.”

**“Well, I’m taking credit for most of it.” It had to have started that summer after all. “Who else could have broken him that much anyway?” If not him then his memory.**

Will slowly looked up at Bill, making sure their eyes met. "I can think of a few things," he said softly, drawing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

**Bill gulped and placed a hand on Will’s shoulder. “He’s not you, he didn’t necessarily go through the same things you did.” Though he supposed that if anyone could understand Will that was Pine Tree, that was why he was such a perfect distraction.**

Will shrugged a little, resting his head on his knees. "Doesn't mean he didn't, either," he said quietly, no longer looking at Bill. He didn't want to think about what had happened to him, or what might have happened to Dipper. Not right then. All he wanted was peace with Bill.

**Bill sighed and looked away. He could tell the other didn’t want to talk about it and to be honest, he wasn’t sure if him hearing about what had happened to Will would be any good right now. “Let’s talk about something else...” He said and tried to think about a different topic. “Oh, since the last time we saw each other, I taught myself to play the piano.”**

Will smiled a little, eagerly throwing himself into the new conversation. "Piano? That's really nice, I didn't think you would have the patience. Maybe you can play sometime." Humming a little, he sat up straight once more.

**“Hey, I’m a very patient guy when I want to,” Bill defended himself. He could play the long game, he usually did, he was surprised Will found it odd. “If Pine Tree lets me then I’ll play for you. But just for you, alright?” He knew he used to play for Dipper and he didn’t want that to happen again, he didn’t want to give the kid that kind of hope.**

Will shook his head, smile a little wider. “There’s a difference,” he hummed, almost... teasingly? “I’m sure he would if you asked. Thank you, Bill!”

**“Anything for you, blue-me,” Bill said and laughed a little. Will was like the little brother he never had, though, of course, they were the same age and Bill didn’t truly see him as a brother… but it was the best way to describe it. There was just something about Will that made him seem younger, more innocent, maybe. “You could ask him for me though, I’m trying to interact with Pine Tree as little as possible.”**

He laughed a little, smiling and settling into the blankets a little more. Relaxing into the warmth and softness and stupid laughter between them. And the feeling of safety and protectiveness that usually came with being around Bill. “Oh. Okay, yeah. I can ask.”

**“Perfect,” Bill said and then he continued telling Will about what had happened since they had last seen each other, avoiding the whole part about the Pines and Weirdmageddon, of course.**

Time flew by as the pair talked in the cell. Will spent more time listening, both because he had less to say about the past few years, and because he was naturally quieter then Bill. He did manage to pipe up a couple times, mention a few places he had been, the time spent learning violin. And sign language, shortly after he’d first been bound to the Gleeful family, to keep himself occupied. When they had still allowed his books.

**It had been a long time -or not so long, but he couldn't remember his and Dipper's conversations so they didn't count in his mind- since he had had a conversation with someone and had truly been interested in what the other had to say. It had also been a long time since he had felt like the other person trusted him and... it was nice.**

* * *

Dipper hadn't wanted to bother them for a while, because he was sure them being together was a good thing. That Will would benefit from talking to Bill, someone he could trust with no reservations, someone that had his best interests in mind at all times. And Bill... Well, Dipper wasn't sure, but it was probably good that the yellow demon had some contact with someone that he liked. It was late afternoon by the time he moved down the stairs, making his presence known so he wouldn't actually be interrupting anything. "Will, I'm going out now, do you still want to come?" He paused. "Bill can come too if you want. I'm looking for more birds in the woods."

**"I had a wonderful day so far," Bill said and glanced from Will to Dipper. "I don't want to ruin it by spending time with you," he told the human and then he turned around, grabbed his ball and started playing with it. "Have fun, Will." The truth was that going out would have been nice, but he needed to give Will some alone time with Dipper so that the blue demon could start doing what he had been asked.**

Dipper rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "That was overdramatic and unnecessary, Bill," he commented lightly, clearly having no problem with what he said. "Considering we go out to the woods all the time." 

**Will sighed a little and stood up. He would have loved it if Bill had wanted to go out with them... But he wasn't going to push. "Well, I definitely want to go," the blue demon told Dipper with a smile and he stepped out of the cell.**

Dipper grinned and he stepped to the side to let Will up the stairs first. "Cool. We should have a couple more hours before dark. Plenty of time. Bye, Bill," he added with his customary smile, before following Will up to the main floor of the house.

**Once they were out of the lab, Will turned to face Dipper and offered him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry he treats you like that..." he said and then he lowered his gaze a little. "You don't deserve it." Wil wished he could do more about it, Dipper really didn't deserve what the other demon was putting him through, he had been through a lot already. Then again, Bill didn't seem to be willing to change and Will didn't like to force his own will over others so he couldn't make him change. The demon could only hope for the best... Hope Bill's plan to distract Dipper wouldn't work and that in the end Dipper would win.**

Dipper sighed a little, shaking his head as he shut the door. "It's okay, Will. I've gotten pretty used to it at this point," he hummed, turning to smile at the demon, hoping to reassure him. It was fine, he could handle the anger and almost hatred from the yellow dream demon. He'd dealt with a lot more, a lot worse. But he wasn't going to focus on that now. He was going to enjoy some time in the woods. "It's fine. Let's go find some birds, k?"

**Will nodded and moved closer to Dipper. "Of course," he said and leaned a little against the human, taking his hand. He too preferred not to talk about that anymore and just enjoy the woods and the other's company. The only reason why he didn't mind all that much that he had agreed to go through with Bill's plan was that, even if Bill hadn't asked, he would have tried to spend as much time with this human as he could. Dipper's mere presence was soothing and it made him feel happy in a different way that Bill's did.**

Dipper gently bumped their shoulder's together, squeezing his hand gently as they left the Shack and moved into the trees beyond. Honestly, he was a little... pleased, that Bill hadn't come with them. Normally he would have been upset, would have pushed a little, because more time spent with Bill meant more time trying to convince him, to get him to remember. But... Dipper liked spending time with Will, it was easy and calm and.. different, from the other. Something he found he wanted more of.

**"What kind of birds are we trying to find?" Will asked once they were away from the shack and walking deeper into the forest. "Common birds or weird birds? And how much time can we stay out here?" The demon felt a little guilty because he had spent way too much time with Bill and maybe now they wouldn't be able to stay in the woods for as long as Dipper had originally planned.**

"Weird birds," he answered. "I want to find more brain-eating ones- I've only ever found one, in it was a couple months ago. And I was thinking we could stay out until it started to get dark," he answered, smiling a little and sliding his free hand in his pocket. "It'll start getting cold by then anyway- it'll still be a couple hours, plenty of time."

**"Alright." Will wished he had been rescued during summer. He had never gotten to enjoy a summer in his Gravity Falls and he had always dreamed about spending the night out in the woods, cuddling with Mason... The demon shivered and shook his head. He felt stupid for still desiring that Mason had brought him nothing but pain. Dipper on the other hand... He would have gladly spent the night in the forest with him.**

Dipper glanced over at Will at the shiver- they were touching enough for him to have felt it. It was kinda chilly, he thought, and maybe Will's shirt wasn't enough... He hadn't thought about that, that even though it was barely 4 in the afternoon, fall would have zapped the heat from the already naturally cooler woods. "Are you cold?" He asked gently, bumping their shoulders together again.

**Will glanced at Dipper and then straight ahead again. "No, it's not that..." he said and then hesitated a moment before adding: "I just... I had a brief thought, about Mason." The blue dream demon sighed and looked down at his feet.**

Dipper nodded slowly, squeezing his hand a little. "Oh, okay," he said gently, smiling a little. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

**"Thanks, Dipper," Will replied and then rested his head on Dipper's shoulder. Maybe later he would talk about it, but right now he didn't want to.**

Dipper let go of Will's hand so he could wrap an arm around his shoulders instead, keeping him close. "Any time, Will," he murmured.

**Will closed his eye for a moment, trusting the other to guide him through the forest. It was like having his All-Seeing-Eye again... Well, Bill would probably tell him it was nothing like that, but he had lost it so many years ago that he had completely forgotten how having it was.**

Dipper led Will around easily, tightening his arm around his shoulders slightly to make sure he stayed on the path, wasn't tripped up by any roots or branches. The silence was good, too; it was nice to have a company that didn't feel the need to fill every moment with sound. "Hey, Will," he whispered, practically right against his ear. "I found a nest."

**Will opened his eye and looked around, smiling when he spotted the nest as well. "I thought they'd be harder to find..." Or maybe it was that Dipper was simply that good.**

"So did I," he murmured, watching one of the birds hop around the edge of the nest. "I thought they'd be farther in. Though it makes sense; easier good access here."

**"There's not many of these in the Gleeful's dimension," Will mentioned and slowly moved closer to the tree. "Stanford hunted them down, he thought he could use them somehow... before he found me."**

Dipper frowned slightly, not really wanting to know what Stanford thought he could do with the birds. “.. Yikes. That sounds... not fun.”

**"It wasn't," Will simply said and then he held up his hand close to the nest, invitingly. One of the birds looked down at him, tilting its head to one side and the other a few times. When it was sure the demon was safe, the bird flew to his hand and asked to be pet, so the demon did that.**

Dipper smiled, moving closer steadily to peek into the nest, smiling a little. "There's another one in here," he whispered, laughing as the much younger bird pecked at his hair.

**Will laughed a little. “I didn’t remember them being so friendly,” he pointed out and offered his other hand to the remaining bird, which jumped to it immediately. They clearly had eaten lately so they weren’t too aggressive or desperate for food.**

“The other one I’ve seen was pretty friendly,” he commented, coming closer to will to gently run a finger against the bird’s head. “That one just hung out on my hand.”

**“This place is so similar yet so different to the Gravity Falls I had to call my own...” Will said and glanced from the bird to Dipper. “It’s a good difference.”**

Dipper smiled a little. ”I’m glad it is. I want this to be a good place for you. You certainly deserve it.”

**Will blushed a little and looked away. "Thanks..." He murmured and then he put the bird back in its nest. "You deserve a good place too."**

Dipper made sure the birds were settled. “This is my good place. Gravity Falls is the best place for me.”

**"That's good," Will said and then he sat down and looked up at the sky. "It's really nice here, but doesn't it give you bad memories?" The demon simply wanted to learn Dipper's trick, know how he managed to be happy in a place that had given him so much trauma.**

Dipper looked around, sitting down next to Will and sighing a little. "Time helped," he said softly, looking up at the trees. "But also... I had to accept that good thing and bad things can happen in the same place. That it wasn't the place itself, it was the people and creatures in it. And that... there are many more good people than bad in Gravity Falls." He paused, smiling a little. "And I can be myself here- its the only place where no one expects anything more than I can give."

**“I see... I suppose I never had time,” Will said and closed his eye, then he rested his head on Dipper’s shoulder, which made his hair move out of the way, revealing his scar once again. He didn’t notice. “That Gravity Falls will never be a good place for me.” That was okay though, this one could definitely become that.**

Dipper gently slid an arm around Will, holding him close and rubbing his fingers against his back, careful and steady. "That's okay," he said softly, not really caring about the scar to bothering to fix Will's hair. "You can have all the time and space here. In this Gravity Falls."

**Will smiled a little and moved a bit closer to the human, practically cuddling with him. “I’d like that.” As much as Will liked to spend time with Bill, he was growing to enjoy more this moments with Dipper, even if it had only been two days. Dipper didn’t ask too many questions, he was waiting for him to be ready to talk, and he didn’t get mad.**

He smiled a little, happily letting the demon practically curl into his side. The peaceful silence lasted for a decent chunk of time as the first steadily grew darker around them. Finally, Dipper pulled back. “We should start to head back if we want to get there while we can still see,” he commented, breath visible in a white mist that hovered in front of him. Standing, he offered a hand to Will.

**Will took the offered hand and fixed his hair before nodding. “Alright.” He smiled and didn’t let go of Dipper’s hand as they started walking back to the shack. “Will you stay the night with me again?” He asked shyly after a moment.**

Dipper nodded after a moment, pulling a flashlight from his pocket and clicking it on to point at the ground, just to be safe. “If you want me to, of course, I will,” he said gently, flashing a smile at the demon. “Hey.. do you want... something to cover your eye, maybe? Just since you keep trying to keep your hair in front of it... and Bill used an eyepatch, so I have a couple if you want. I could make it blue to match.”

**Will’s hand went to his missing eye, wanting to make sure his hair was still covering it. He sighed in relief when he noticed it was. “That could be a good idea. Thanks, Dipper,” he said and sighed. “I had no idea Bill had lost his eye too...” Of course, it hadn’t been his All-Seeing Eye, but since he was on the other side, Will’s scar was in the same place as Bill’s**

“When he first came, he used it to cover his All-Seeing Eye,” he explained, squeezing his hand gently. “And then, later... when Ford found out.. he attacked him and stabbed out the other eye. So he just switched the eyepatch to cover the other one.”

**"I see... Well, I'm glad it wasn't the other one," Will said and sighed. He knew that losing his All-Seeing Eye would probably destroy Bill and not because there was always a chance that would kill him but he because he wouldn't be able to live without it.**

“So am I,” he said quietly, wincing slightly. “That would... god, he would have been crushed if that had happened.” Shaking his head, he swung the flashlight across the ground, sighing.

**"Yes, he always relied too much on it." He had been forced to live without being able to use it for about fifteen years before losing it and even back when he had it he hadn't really used it as much as Bill. For Will, it had been painful, sure, and not because of the physical pain alone, but it hadn't been the worst thing the Gleefuls had done to him.**

“I suppose. I don’t really know that much about what he uses it for,” he confessed, as he finally broke free from the trees into the open grass around the Shack. The stars were out in full force, lights on in the house. “Maybe next time I’ll show you some of my tree forts. We could spend a while out there.”

**"You know him, he doesn't trust people," Will said and placed a hand on one of the trees. He closed his eye, his hand was engulfed by yellow fire and the eye within the tree became visible to Dipper. "He prefers to have eyes everywhere so that no one can get ahead of him, I guess." Will moved his hand away and the eye disappeared.**

“He told me once that he had an eye inside every tree,” he suddenly remembered. “So that if something happened and I... needed to stop him from seeing, I would have to burn the forest down.”

**"Well, no need to do that now..." Will said and glanced down at the ring around Dipper's finger. If Bill had no access to his power he wouldn't be able to use the eyes anyway, it had been like that for Will as well.**

Dipper’s shoulders slumped slightly, head lowering. “Yeah... I know,” he sighed softly, clicking off the light and putting it away.

**Will shook his head, feeling stupid for pointing that out, he knew Dipper didn't like having Bill bound. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad." He had simply been thinking it was a good thing that Dipper wouldn't have to burn down the forest.**

He looked up, smiling a little and taking his hand to squeeze it for a moment. “It’s okay, Will. I know you didn’t,” he assured, leading the way up to the house and letting him inside first.

**Once inside, Will. Let Dipper know that he would be in his room, reading. He needed a bit of time to himself, having spent all day with others, it was exhausting for him, even if he had enjoyed every second of it. He really wanted to spend the night with Dipper, but first, he needed to recharge in a way.**

Dipper nodded, smiling a little as Will left. He went into the kitchen, taking a seat with a cup of tea to warm up. 

_ We’re back, _ he told Bill.

**_I know. Will might be weak at the moment, but his presence is still really hard to ignore,_ ** **the demon pointed out.** **_Did you have fun?_ ** **He asked, his tone playful, you could practically hear the smirk on it.**

_ Just making sure. Yes, I did. We went for walk, found some birds. Talked, _ he answered offhandedly, smiling a little.  _ I’m getting him an eyepatch. _

**_Oh, really? Like the one, I used to wear?_ ** **Bill laughed a little. His plan was certainly working, even if Dipper was basically using Will to fill the void that he had left. He just hoped Will wouldn't end up getting hurt...**

_ A blue one instead. Something so he isn’t so worried about his hair not hiding it, _ he explained, sighing softly. He was trying really hard not to turn Will into Bill, or to replace him. Mainly because he wanted Bill, and didn’t want to risk hurting Will.

**_He'll love that,_ ** **Bill said and he was sincere this time. As much as Pine Tree was a pain, Bill had to admit that he was glad he was taking care of the other demon, he could help him in ways that he knew he couldn't.**

_ I thought so, too. Just something to make him more comfortable.  _ He smiled a little, getting a drink before heading to his room.

**_Be careful with him. Don't give me another reason to want to kill you..._ ** **Bill found himself warning Dipper, even though saying that could be a problem for his plan. He was saying it for two reasons but only aware of one: he didn't want Will to get hurt. The other reason was hidden behind layers and layers of repressed thoughts and emotions: he didn't want to get hurt.**

Dipper paused, bowing his head slightly. _ Never. I would never hurt him,  _ he assured softly.  _ He’s been through plenty, I just want to help. He’s safe here, Bill. Just as safe as you are.  _ He had to be careful, anyway. Not wanting to risk anything.

**Bill rolled his eye.** **_Call it what you want, Pine Tree, but this isn't safety, this is imprisonment,_ ** **he corrected him.** **_Goodnight, I hope you give me a better dream this time._ **

_ If I didn’t fear for anyone else’s safety, you’d have more freedom,  _ he pointed out.  _ I hope not, Will’s afraid to sleep alone after last night and I’d hate to worry him with any of my own nightmares.  _

**Will walked out of his room and found Dipper on the way to the attic. "Oh, I was hoping you'd come... I'm okay to have some company again," he told the human with a shy smile.**

Dipper smiled a little, nodding. “I was just going to grab my journal from my room, I’ll be right there, okay?”

**"Alright!" Will smiled widely and returned to his room to change into his PJs.**

**Bill sighed and rubbed his eye. He didn't want Will to end up upset either... Damn, he hated this situation, Dipper had truly left him between a rock and a hard place. Well, if you're going to have a nice dream let's hope that it's at least interesting.**

_ If you wouldn’t do anything like you did last time, I’d let you control them,  _ Dipper tossed out calmly. “Awesome,” he laughed, heading to his room to change and get his journal.

**_Mmm... Nope, that would be too tempting._ ** **If it weren't because of Will, he would have jumped at that opportunity immediately.**

_ Alright then. I’ll see you later. Maybe I’ll try lucid dreaming again, you could have a say in what happens.  _

**Don't even bother, Bill said and like that he decided to conclude their conversation.**

**Will was waiting for Dipper already under the covers. He was looking forward to cuddling with the human again, his arms had felt like paradise the night before.**

Dipper headed back down to Will’s room, knocking before coming in with his journal tucked under his arm. “Don’t you look comfortable,” he teased.

**"I left enough space for you," Will reassured the other and lifted the blankets to invite him to join him in the bed.**

Laughing a little, he shut the door and crossed the room. “I definitely thought you had. I was just teasing you,” he hummed, sliding into the bed to join him.

**As soon as Dipper was under the covers, the demon moved closer and wrapped his arms around Dipper. "Thank you for staying with me again tonight, Dipper," he murmured against the human's chest, eyes already closed.**

Dipper blushed, taking a slow breath and wrapping his arm around Will gently. “Yeah, course, Will,” he murmured. “That’s what I’m here for.”


	9. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Dipper keep getting closer and things get even more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've been having a rather bad day, but that's good news for you! Because it means I'm likely to spend the rest of it putting more chapters together so I can keep my current update schedule. -Alga

**As the days passed by, Will only got better. He found it easy to trust all the Pines after about a week of getting to know them. Sometimes he still thought of the Gleefuls when he saw them, but it really wasn't all that often and it usually only happened with Ford and Stan. He and Dipper continued getting closer and Will's crush didn't go away, but he tried not to think too much about it, even though it was becoming harder and harder each day, even more so since they spent most nights together. He had opened up a little more to Dipper as well, having told him about some of the stuff the Gleefuls had made him go through. He hadn't told him much about Mason though, not until he had another nightmare, the first one in a month. "Mason was nice too, at first," he murmured once Dipper had managed to calm him down.**

Dipper loved every moment, really. He tried to keep his distance, at least some; he didn’t want to risk transferring his feelings onto Will just because he was there and cute. But every moment that the dream demon opened up to him was soft and warm and hard-won... he liked it. He liked that Will trusted him... like with this nightmare, only the second to ever happen while he had been staying there. It took some time for Dipper to calm him down, but he did again. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

**Will took a deep breath and nodded. He felt like it was time to share some of it. "Stanford was always terrible, always treating me like-" Will gulped and closed his eyes- "like I was just a tool, a source of power... Mason though... while I was bound to Stanford, Mason was the sweetest person I had met in that universe. He would treat my wounds, kiss them better..." The demon let out a bitter laugh and rubbed his eye. "We came up with the plan together, I would help him get the amulet from Stanford and we would leave Gravity Falls together..."**

Dipper gently reached out to take Will’s hand, cupping his cheek with the other. “And he lied, right?” He asked softly, watching him carefully. He could see where this was going, pretty quickly. Could see why Mason could have such a hold over Will, even after everything that the Gleeful Twin had put him through. “He just wanted to use you, too... correct?”

**Will nodded and glanced away from Dipper. He was too broken, sometimes he felt like maybe he had been used way too much, like he would never again have anything to give. "I risked angering Stanford and helped him get the amulet and once he got it he just... ordered me to go back to the cell and he changed."**

Dipper nodded slowly, letting out a soft breath as he slid a little closer to the demon. “You care about him,” he said quietly. Of course, he had thought that already, but this was solidifying his ideas into something more real. Concrete. “And he used that to get what he wanted.” Sounded... really familiar.

**Will nodded and a shiver run through his body. He had tears in his eyes and he was trying to hold them back. "At first I would give him everything willingly, I thought... Maybe he needed more time, he was just seventeen years old at the time, he needed to make arrangements for us to leave..." But weeks had turned to months and then months into years and nothing had changed, things had simply gotten worse. "I started fighting against the bond and tha-that took a lot out of me and in made things harder for him too, s- so, whenever he wanted to get me to do something with-without fighting h-he would be nice again." And he would fall for it every single time... No wonder Bill thought he was pathetic.**

“Will... he used you,” he whispered, shaking his head. “What happened... it was his fault, not yours.” Slowly, carefully, he tipped Will’s head so their eyes met. The softest, almost heartbreaking smile had crossed his features. He’d been there, he’d let people take advantage of him. The most recent was Bill, and all it had taken was him being nice. “But you... he made you care about him and used that to his advantage. He twisted you around his finger. And when things got bad... of course you were going to be willing to do anything when they were nice. But that makes him a bad person, not you. You did... really well.”

**It was the first time he had talked about this with someone. He had thought about telling Bill, but in the end, he had decided against it because he had known the other demon wouldn't have been able to help him. Dipper though? Dipper knew exactly what to say to make him feel better and his touch was gentle and it helped and he felt safe around him and- Will didn't even notice he had leaned forward until he felt Dipper's lips against his own. The second he realized what he had done he moved away, immediately putting some good amount of distance between them -as much as he could without falling from the bed-. "I-I'm sorry I shouldn't have- I don't know why- I just-" Will struggled to explain himself, shaking and not able to look at the human in the eye.**

Dipper kissed back.

Dipper. Kissed. Back.

He hadn’t fought against the press of lips against his own, hadn’t pushed Will away or tried to stop him in any way. No. Dipper Pines leaned forward slightly and returned the gentle pressure before he even really knew what he was doing. Once he did, of course, he scrambled back, also putting some distance between them. “No, it’s okay, really,” he assured quickly, eyes wide. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.. either.. it just...” slowly, he let out a breath, running his hand through his hair. It was just because they were so similar to the people Will and Dipper actually wanted. That’s it. “Will... hey, it’s okay,” he said softly, slowly moving closer to the demon. “It’s okay. Nothing’s wrong, I promise. It’s all okay.”

**Will took another moment and finally relaxed once again. "I'm sorry, I just, you're so nice to me and I like you and I know I shouldn't have done that I don't know why I did it." Because he wanted to feel loved for once, loved for real... But he knew Dipper didn't feel that way.**

Dipper shook his head, not wanting to try and get into that. “It’s okay, Will. I’m not angry. And I’m sorry, too; I shouldn’t have kissed you back. It wasn’t fair.”

**Will gulped and looked away. He nodded a little. "It's- it's okay." Dipper didn't want him, he wanted Bill and that was fine, he knew that, but part of him had hoped... He shouldn't have kissed him, he knew he would end up feeling rejected.**

Dipper bit his lip, wincing slightly and looking away. This really wasn’t fair, to either of them. It wasn’t fair that they wanted something they couldn’t have; or that both of them and reached for the next closest thing. Under different circumstances... Dipper could grow to love Will, instead. ”... It’s late, Will... how about some more rest? Do you want me to stay or go?”

**"Please stay?" Usually, he would have told Dipper that he didn't have to if he didn't want to, but now he felt that if the other left he wouldn't be able to handle the feeling of being rejected. He knew it was selfish to ask the human to stay, but he needed him there.**

Dipper smiled soothingly. “Of course, Will,” he assured gently, sliding over to lay next to him.

**Will laid down again but this time he didn't move closer to Dipper, no matter how much he wanted to. "I- I'll try harder to get Bill back," he whispered after a moment of silence and then he closed his eye and tried to fall asleep again.**

**It took Will a lot longer than usual to fall asleep again, but eventually, he did.**

Dipper settled next to him, watching the demon. “It’s okay. You’re doing enough,” he murmured, letting out a weak sigh before clothing his eyes as well. He didn’t sleep. 

* * *

 

 **_What's up, Pine Tree?_ ** **Bill asked after about an hour had passed and the human still hadn't fallen asleep again.** **_Shouldn't you be sleeping?_ **

Dipper sighed a little, staring at the ceiling. _Can’t sleep,_ he answered, not getting any more detailed than that.

 **_Why? You weren't having nightmares..._ ** **Bill thought for a moment about what could have woken up dipper and frowned.** **_Is Will okay? It he the one with the nightmares?_ **

_Yeah.. he had one. He’s asleep again, though,_ he assured quickly. _He’s alright... This was his first one in a month or so. I just can’t sleep._

 **_Why?_ ** **Bill couldn’t remember when was the last time Dipper couldn’t sleep, it was strange and... it worried him? No, no it didn’t, it wasn’t that.**

 _Too much on my mind..._ he closed his eyes, sighing softly.

 **Bill smirked.** **_You know, I could help with that, put other things on your mind..._ ** **He said, but the thing was he wasn’t really in the mood and he only suggested it because he knew the other would say no.**

Dipper squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Honestly, he’d take a nightmare- something mind-numbing to force his thoughts to a stop, so he wouldn’t have to focus on Will and his touch anymore. He actually considered agreeing. Finally, though, he responded. _...Will would get scared. He should sleep, his nightmare was intense._

 **Bill hesitated for a brief moment and then sighed.** **_I don't have to give you a nightmare, I could just make you sleep and give you and empty white room,_ ** **he said, his reluctance to offer pretty clear on every word. This meant nothing, it was just that time went faster in the dreamscape and if Dipper couldn't sleep that meant he couldn't either and he would be bored out of his mind in his cell for longer than needed.**

Dipper blinked, pausing for a moment. A tiny smile appeared on his face- that was the nicest thing this Bill had ever offered to do. And while he was sure there wasn’t anything to it, that it didn’t mean anything, he could still feel the tiny blossom of hope in his chest. No matter how unwilling Bill seemed. _Please,_ he agreed, closing his eyes again. _Please do._

 **_Alright, sapling,_ ** **he said, not even realizing he had used another nickname. With a little bit of access to his power that Dipper had given him, he made the human fall asleep and put him in an empty room, just like he had promised.** **_There, my job is done, if you have nightmares now don't blame me._ **

Dipper nodded a little, trying not to focus on ‘sapling’ or the nice deed or the fact that his heart ached and he wanted to cry. _Thanks..._ He took a seat on the floor, just listening to his breathing.

**Bill floated above Dipper, out of sight for the human. He looked around at the dark shadows at the corners of the room and sighed. He still had a bit of access to his power, the human hadn't remembered to lock it again. With it, he made the shadows go away for the rest of the night. He told himself he was doing it for Will.**

Dipper passed the rest of the night in peace- sometimes speaking out loud, nothing important just things he found interesting, or singing, or just sitting in complete silence. It was the most peaceful night he’d had in a long time. And it was Bill doing it- Bill being nice and giving him peace and calling him sapling and banishing the nightmares from his mind. 

* * *

 

He woke the next morning with a sad smile and desperate wish in his mind. Careful not to disturb Will, he sat up and moved to get out of the bed. _Thank you..._

 **_I didn't do it for you,_ ** **Bill told the other and stood up from where he had been laying on the blankets.** **_But now you owe me, Pine Tree,_ ** **he added.**

**Will rolled over when Dipper moved and he blinked lazily at him. "It's morning already?" He asked and rubbed his eye.**

_I know,_ he responded, closing his eyes for a moment. _Let me know what you want, we’ll talk._

Dipper smiled faintly, nodding. “It’s still pretty early though, if you wanted to sleep longer.”

**_Of course, we will._ **

**Will shook his head and got out of the bed. "I'll make breakfast," he said and tried to put on a smile, but it was pretty obvious it was fake.**

“It’s my turn,” Dipper pointed out, yawning softly. Something in his heart broke at the very fake smile. Reaching out, he caught Will’s wrist. “Don’t,” he said softly. “Will... don’t fake being okay. It isn’t good in the long run, and you’re allowed to feel upset.”

**Will gulped and looked away from Dipper. "But I don't want to feel upset, I made a mistake and I- I can tell you didn't sleep enough and I don't want you to be upset because of me, I'm sorry..."**

“The thing about feelings, Will,” he started, moving closer, “is that you have to feel the bad emotions so you can have the good ones. We both made a mistake- and I could go on about all the reasons we did- but that... you still get to feel upset about it, you were just as affected as I was and I don’t want you burying your feelings to make me feel better. Also; I slept fine.”

**Will took a deep breath and nodded. "Right, okay, I-I'll try," he murmured and then he walked past Dipper and headed to the kitchen, not bothering to change out of his PJs. He was doing everything he could not to think about the kiss.**

**He knew Dipper didn't think he had been meaning to kiss him, the other probably thought it was his crush on Mason what had driven him, but it wasn't, or at least Will didn't think it was. Dipper was the complete opposite of Mason, he was kind, he didn't lie to him, didn't use him... His mistake hadn't been kissing Dipper because he thought he was the next best thing, his mistake had been kissing him while knowing the other would never feel the same way and when Dipper had kissed him back for a brief second he had hoped that maybe he had been wrong... But that wasn't the case.**

Dipper groaned, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. Dammit.. this was the worst. He had promised to never hurt Will, and here he was- ruining everything. And while he was sure Will had kissed him because of the emotions around Mason and the crush he had, Dipper couldn’t be completely sure about his own reasoning. Part of him said it was because he was so like Bill- and another pointed out all the ways they the demons were different and that Dipper genuinely... really liked Will. Sighing, he made his way back to the room he shared with Mabel, though he hadn’t been sleeping there very often lately. He needed to talk to someone, and his sister seemed like the best choice.

**Mabel was woken up by the sound of the door closing. She moved to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes before stretching a little. "What time is it?" She asked and then she checked her phone. "Seven? Dipper this batter be-" She looked up at her twin and, the second she saw the look on his face, her protest died on her lips. "Oh, Dip Dop... what is it? What happened? Is it Bill? Did he do something?"**

“No, no, he didn’t, he’s been nice lately, it’s...” Dipper leaned back against the door, groaning. “Will kissed me,” he blurted out, sliding down the wood to sit on the floor. “Last night.”

**"Oh..." Mabel bit her lip. She would have been lying if she told him she hadn't seen that coming. "Okay... How do you feel about that?" She asked as she tried to think about how to approach the subject.**

“Confused,” he mumbled, covering his face with his hands. “And guilty.” He sighed. “And I think he only kissed me because we were talking about His Mason- the one he cares about. And, I mean, I kind of am him, and I was there, and I listened. But I kissed him back, and... I don’t know why. If it’s because he’s.. Bill, or because he’s him. Or both.”

**Mabel got out of bed and walked closer to his brother. She grabbed his hands and made him lower them. "I think that's something you really need to figure out, because if you just kissed him because he's like Bill then you need to put a stop to it before one of you gets hurt. You should talk to him about it, if that's the case," she told her brother. "But when it comes to him... Dipper, his Mason put him through a lot of shit, okay? He never told me the details, but that much is clear. Yes, part of him might still have feelings for him, but you're nothing like that guy and he knows that. He might have kissed you because you're you."**

“He’s already hurt,” he whispered, shaking his head slightly. “I’ve already hurt him..” He met Mabel’s eyes, frowning slightly. “He told me some, and it isn’t good. But him kissing me for me makes it worse, Mabel. Because... because I can handle it. I can handle the fact that being near either demon hurts, that getting close with either of them feels a lot like ripping my soul into little pieces, that Bill probably hates me and Will...” he shook his head again. “But... I don’t think Will can, not again, and even if he could, he certainly shouldn’t have to. I can take the constant, mind-numbing ache. Will doesn’t deserve that.”

**Mabel sighed and nodded a little. "Come, let's sit down a little." The girl guided his brother to his bed, the one he hadn't used in weeks, and she sat down. "I know it's difficult for you, I know you love Bill, but... It's been a month, Dipper and even with Will around he hasn't shown that many signs of getting better. I'm not saying you should replace him, yes, Will doesn't deserve that, but maybe you should try to find a way to move on... I hate seeing you like this, I thought you were getting better." Up until yesterday Dipper had seemed happy, him and Will had fun, they were both getting better.**

He sank into his bed, curling his hands into fists. “... he has improved,” he said softly, weakly. “It’s... little things, and if I tried to explain them you’d think I’m crazy, but.. he has.” Pausing, he laughed, it sounded bitter and empty. “Me? I’m fine. I had nothing to get better from. But that isn’t the point.” Standing, he rubbed at his eyes. “Thanks for the talk, it helped,” he said, which was only partially true. He felt worse about everything, but at least everything was more laid out. Dipper had no idea what he was going to do about the situation he was in, but he’d figure out something.

**"Dipper..." Mabel took his brother's hand, stopping him from leaving. "I want Bill to get better too, I miss the demon that would sit on the piano for hours and pretend he didn't take requests from anyone but you, but I don't want you to get your hopes up over little things. The demon in that cell knows exactly how to play you, he's not your Bill," she reminded him. "You need to accept that or else you won't be able to move on, with anyone." She didn't even think that having something with Will would be good for Dipper, or Will for that matter, but she also didn't want his brother to be stuck in a lie.**

Dipper just shook his head, pulling away. “Trust me, I know,” he said, voice void of any emotion. “I haven’t gotten my hopes up, and I’m well aware that Bill knows how to twist me to get what he wants. Thanks for pointing it out again.” This was a mistake, he should have just kept quiet about it. It would have been easier for everyone else. Pulling his hand away, he left the room.

**"Dipper, wait!" Mabel tried to stop him but the other was already out of the room. She hated when she couldn't help his brother, but she felt like he needed to hear that from someone else... Maybe she shouldn't have said anything, but she had wanted to help and she hadn't been able to think of another way, the last thing she wanted was for Dipper to be stuck. Again.**

Dipper knew he was being ridiculous- everything Mabel said had been correct, and if he was thinking a little more clearly he might have appreciated it. But it also wasn’t what he needed or wanted right then, and he should have known better. Silently, he left the Shack- clearly, he needed time to get his head on straight. 

* * *

 

 **Bill was... It was complicated. Ever since Will had come back and he had started getting better, feeling happier, it was as if something had slowly started to change within the yellow demon. Seeing the other open up, being his vulnerable self and not getting hurt because of it... Some of Bill's memories started to come back. They were just flashes, brief moments in which he felt complete again and then they were gone and the yellow demon was left feeling mad at the whole situation because he didn't want those memories, he didn't want the feelings... But it was definitely getting harder for him to suppress that side. He wasn't letting it show though.** **_Mmm... I feel a dark aura coming from you..._ ** **he told Dipper, curious as to what had happened, since the other hadn't had nightmares that night.**

 _Bill, I am currently a bit of a mess of human emotions. Maybe it would be better if you didn’t push,_ he suggested, striding into the woods with later care for where he was headed.

 **_Oh, but when you're like this is when it's the most fun for me to push,_ ** **the demon pointed out and laughed.** **_What happened, Pine Tree? Did Will break your heart?_ **

_No._ It was a few more minutes before he spoke again. _He did kiss me, though. So there’s that._

 **_Did he now? Well, it's not surprising, he always fell in love too fast,_ ** **Bill rolled his eyes a little.** **_What's the matter with you then? I thought something like that would make you happy._ **

_It doesn’t,_ he said simply, shaking his head and pushing his way through the trees, leaving the trails behind.

 **_Why? I don't get it, you humans and your emotions... Too complicated, it really isn't worth the trouble,_ ** **Bill sighed and rubbed his eye.** **_Are you in the shack?_ **

_Because I... don’t know if I like him like that,_ he answered truthfully. _No... I needed space. I’m in the woods, care to join me?_

 **_No, I'm fine here..._ ** **Part of him wanted to, but he was fighting against it, if Dipper hadn't asked for his company then maybe he would have gone anyway, but he didn't want to comply to the other's requests.**

 _Alright..._ He wanted the distraction, the possibility of an argument, something that might have dragged him out of his mood. Or be attacked, either of those options would be fine.

**Bill was going to ask why he didn't ask Will to go with him, but he supposed that right now the human wouldn't want the other demon's company... what a shame. Well, at least his plan seemed to have worked, Dipper hadn't bothered him with tales of his past self for a while.**

Dipper continued to walk, disregarding the known paths, so lost in thought he missed some of his safety markers that were meant to keep the people that ventured in out of danger. He just continued, pushing deeper.

 

 

* * *

**Eventually, Bill decided to check on Will, wanting to make sure the other demon was okay. Dipper didn't bother locking the door of his cell anymore, so he had no trouble getting out and going to look for the demon. He found him in the kitchen, still making breakfast. There was enough for an army and that immediately told Bill that the other wasn't okay.**

“... Hi, Bill,” he said, continuing to focus forward as he mixed another batch of pancakes. He had lost count of how many he made, added to everything else he had made. “How are you?”

**Bill looked around the kitchen and blinked a couple of times. "I'm... Fine... Don't you think that's enough? There are only four people that eat living in this house, William," he reminded him. "And I don't think Pine Tree is going to have breakfast today so that leaves three."**

That didn’t actually stop the blue dream demon, he just moved on to pour the batter into disks and wait for them to cook. “Well... it’s fine... it can be packed and eaten later. Or I could... I don’t know, some of it can feed to animals in the forest.”

**"Will, what's going on?" The yellow dream demon asked and floated closer to the other so that they were eye to eye. "Tell me and please stop cooking."**

Will swallowed thickly. “I.. I made a mistake,” he finally managed. “And it was stupid, I was stupid I n-never should have done it but it’s too l-late now.”

**"What? Kissing Pine Tree?" When the demon said it out loud he felt a pang of jealousy inside his chest, but he paid it no mind, it was a trace of who he had been and he wouldn't let it ruin his plan. "You did it because it felt right, didn't you? That's fine, you're not stupid for it!" He tried to reassure the other.**

“I am,” he said, finishing the pancakes he had been making when Bill came up before stopping. Mainly because he was out of ingredients for breakfast food. “I... I knew how he’d re-react and that he st-still loves you, that I’d g-get rejected and I did it anyway.”

**Bill rolled his eye. "Well, that kid needs to move on because I. Don't. Love. Him." Ugh, the fact that saying the words hurt him was the most annoying thing in the world. "He'll be fine and you'll be fine as well, I'm sure you'll make a great couple," Bill added and looked away, out to the woods through the window.**

Will watched him sadly, shaking his head a little and drifting away from the kitchen. “It doesn’t work like that, Bill,” he said softly, voice thick with tears. “It... He... I don’t know if he’ll e-ever get over y-you.”

**Bill sighed and rubbed his eye. He didn't like seeing Will like this and the only reason why he wasn't going to get Dipper to rip his throat open was that he couldn't and maybe because he knew that would make Will feel even worse -and deep down he wasn't doing it because that would kill him as well. "What... can I do to help you?"**

Will shook his head a little, slowly steps bringing him closer to his room. The only thing Bill could do, he wanted, so he didn’t see a reason to bring it up. “Nothing...”

**Bill followed the demon around the house, floating just a couple of feet behind him. "There has to be something," he said again and once they reached Will's room he sat down on the bed. "See? This is why I don't like to deal with emotions. Look at you, you're a mess!"**

He shook his head, gaze lowered. “Dipper told me that it was okay to be upset,” he said softly, sitting on the bed and holding his pillow against his chest. “Because you have to feel the bad emotions before you can get back to the good ones.”

**"That's just something humans tell themselves to pretend they are not miserable. You're not human, Will, you're one of the most powerful creatures in the multiverse, you should be above this!" Bill knew there was no changing Will though, he had been like this since the beginning and no matter how hard Bill had tried to help him, he never changed. "Emotions just paralyze you, just like with your family and all those assholes that treat you like crap. Who had to go and destroy that dimension for you?"**

Will curled in on himself further, hiding his face in the pillow. He was shaking just slightly, breath a little quicker than normal. “St-stop, Bill..” he whispered, snuggling softly.

**Bill's hands turned to fists and he had to take a moment to calm down, realizing he was doing Will no good. "I'm sorry," he said and then he left the room and went to the attic to get Mabel. "Shooting Star, Will needs you, I'll be out in the woods killing your brother," he said before leaving through the window.**

Mabel blinked, sighing a little as she finished brushing out her hair. “Alright. I’ll be right there. Please don’t kill him, this whole thing is seriously messing him up, too,” she urged, before heading to Will’s room to comfort the demon.

* * *

Dipper had stopped for a break, leaning back against a tree for a little while.

 **_Pineee Treee... Come out, come out, wherever you areee..._ ** **Bill called the human as he searched the woods. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, he knew the other would probably stop him from doing anything before he could get too close, but he was at least going to try and scare him.**

Dipper sighed softly, moving again. _Be a lot easier if I new where you were,_ he pointed out dully.

 **_Would be a lot easier if you'd let me use my eye,_ ** **Bill shot back and continued looking through the forest, getting farther and farther away from the shack.**

 _Go right ahead,_ he answered, giving him the control and the power.

**It was like he had been blind all this time and was suddenly able to see again.  Bill found Dipper in less that a second once he could use the eyes in the trees and five minutes later he was jumping at the human, going straight for the ring. If he could get it from him things would be easier.**

Dipper curled his hand into a tight fist, protecting the ring as he ducked back, away from Bill. Something sparked in dead eyes for just a second before fading, and he stood in front of the demon, making no orders or attempts to stop him beyond keeping the ring safe.

**The demon let out an angry growl and reached for the other’s neck. He could feel a bit of magic at his fingertips, like the other had opened the bond a little too much when he gave him access to his eye. Before the other could stop him, he used that power to lift him from the ground, an invisible force choking the human.**

**“Dipper!” Ford ran towards them, having been warned by Mabel of the demon being out of the cell. He got his quantum destabilizer ready and shot, aiming at Bill’s eye.**

After that, several things happened at once. The bond crackled, shutting down the flow of magic to the Demon. And instead, Dipper took hold of it, eyes flashing, forcing the choke hold off of him. In the same moment, he reached out and flung Bill back, out of the way of the blast from the destabilizer.

Landing lightly on his feet, eyes glowing yellow with the power, he stepped forward. “Enough.” Looming at Ford, he nodded slowly. “Put the gun down, Ford. You won’t need it. Bill, here. Now.” He added, never taking his eyes off his uncle as he pointed to the ground right next to him.

**The demon tried to stay away, refusing to do as he was told, but the chains tightened around him and practically dragged him to Dipper’s feet.**

**Ford lowered the gun but he kept his finger on the trigger, just in case.  “He’s not him, Dipper, we’ve tried everything, he almost got ahead of you right now!” He could have lost his nephew and he didn’t like this alternative either, the power... it was too much for Dipper, it could be bad for him.**

Dipper glanced at Bill, frowning a little. “You’re welcome to float or stand if you want,” he added.

“Because I let him,” he pointed out to Ford, letting the magic go and the light fade from his eyes. “I was in the mood for a fight, and if I was actually in any danger I would have put a stop to it. You have to admit, it would be better to fight him then something that could kill me.”

**“Oh, I could kill you, Pine Tree, if you weren’t hiding behind this!” The demon tugged at the chains and turned red before turning around and giving him and Ford his back.**

**Ford sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m worried about, you, Dipper...” Ford glanced at the demon. He didn’t want to have this conversation around Bill.**

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Good thing I have it then,” he mumbled, folding his arms over his chest and looking away from the demon.

Glancing at Ford, he sighed. “Bill... go back, okay? Go back to the Shack. You don’t need to go to your cell if you don’t want, but go back to the Shack.”

**The demon turned around once again to glare at the human. “Don’t. Tell. Me. What. To. Do.” He warned him before walking away, towards the shack, of course, since he couldn’t really refuse to go.**

“Then stop forcing me to!” He snapped back, loosening his hold just enough that Bill could float back instead of walk.

**Ford watched the demon go and then turned to face Dipper. “I’m sorry I shot him... I was... I saw what was going on and I couldn’t think.”**

He let out a breath, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair. “It’s okay, Ford... don’t worry about it too much.”

**Ford shook his head and took a coupe steps closer to his nephew. “How do you expect me not to worry when I find out that Bill’s out and threatening to kill you?”**

“Because I pretty clearly just showed that I’m in control here?” He suggested, shrugging a little and looking off to the side. “He was out because I haven’t been locking the cell. He threatened me because of Will. I let him because I wanted a fight.”

**“And why did you want a fight? Why was Will so upset when I left the shack? I thought things were finally going better again, Will was making you happy...” Ford didn’t understand what had changed, Dipper seemed to have been fine, despite the fact that Bill was barely showing any signs of getting better.**

“Because we kissed!” He said, throwing his hands into the air. “We kissed! And I love Bill but might have feelings for Will, and Will still has a lot of unresolved feelings for his Mason but might also have a crush on me? And it’s a cluster fuck of emotions and problems! So I wanted a fight, because I wanted the pain and the clearheadedness that comes after, but I wasn’t going to hurt myself again.”

**Ford gave his nephew a worried look and then he sighed. It really seemed to be a mess, he knew he wouldn’t have liked to be in Dipper’s position. “It is basically the same though, to willingly put yourself in harm’s way... You can’t do stuff like that, Dipper, it’s only downhill from there, you know that better than anyone,”**

Dipper grit his teeth. “Don’t lecture me about self-harm right now, Ford,” he warned.

**Ford sighed and nodded. “Alright.” And then he was supposed not to worry so much... as if he would be able to, knowing how Dipper was feeling. “Should we get back to the shack?”**

Dipper had turned away to breathe, focusing on that instead. “I don’t know... maybe? I’m still upset.. so maybe not....?”

**Ford shook his head and offered his hand to Dipper. “And you think being alone in the woods is really a good idea?” He shook his head. “Come on, Mabel and Stan were worried about you.”**

Dipper hesitated before reaching out and taking Ford’s hand. “Yeah, I do,” he whispered, letting Ford lead him along, a little like a child.

**“Well, it’s not.” The scientist replied a moment after he started walking back to the shack, dragging Dipper along.**

“It is sometimes,” he said softly, following without any fight.

**Ford stopped for a moment and turned to face Dipper. “I know I’m not the best help out there, but I’d like it a lot if you tried talking to me instead of running away next time.”**

“It’s not running away,” he said firmly, pulling his hand away. “Sometimes I feel suffocated in that house, okay? And when something is really wrong, and I need to think, I need to leave, to have the space and the time and the quiet to get my head on straight!”

**“I get that, Dipper,” Ford said, keeping his tone calm and gentle. Dipper was stressed out and raising his voice wouldn’t help. ”But there’s no quiet in going out with the idea of picking a fight with Bill or any other monster or just looking to get into trouble.”**

“There’s quiet before, and there’s quiet after,” he said simply. “And, yes, I know it’s not a healthy coping mechanism, that I need a better way to handle the general anxiety and self-loathing and anger I feel all the time, and that feeling good because of the pain is all a learned response I tricked my brain into experiencing when I went out looking for pain when things got bad. I know. Mom and Dad put me through therapy. But even you have to admit storming through the woods hoping to get in a fight is a lot better than my other options.”

**Ford sighed and looked away. “I guess you’re right about that...” The old man shook his head and continued walking towards the shack, expecting the other to follow. “I wish I knew how to help you, Dipper,” he added. He never knew if he was doing the right thing, it was the worst feeling ever. Right now he could only think of one solution and he knew even that would probably make things worse.**

Dipper followed along, hands shoved in his pockets and head lowered slightly. “You do the best you can, Ford. And I appreciate it,” he said quietly. “Honestly... I don’t know if anyone can help me anymore. And that’s not your fault, I just don’t think it’s possible anymore. I might be too messed up.”

**“Nobody is ever too messed up, get that idea out of your head,” Ford reassured the other and then walked into the shack. “I’ll be in the lab if you need anything and if you want to avoid Will, he’s in the attic with Mabel.”**

Dipper smiled a little, nodding. “Alright... sounds like a good time to read in the kitchen.”

**Ford nodded once and then he headed down to the lab, leaving Dipper alone. Both Mabel and Stan were with Will and Bill was in the lab, in the cell, so Dipper really was completely alone.**

Dipper slumped into a chair, letting out several small breaths before finally deciding he was calm enough to do something. It was reading, not right away- it turned into him deep cleaning the kitchen first. Then he sat down and read.

* * *

**Bill spent the rest of the morning trying to somehow get rid of the chains, clawing at them, trying to break them, he did everything he could think of, even used acid on them -before Ford walked into the lab and locked the door of the cell. He ended up completely draining himself, to the point where the chains started leaving bruises on his body. Only when he couldn’t move anymore, he stopped.**

It was Will that came down to check on him, the story of what had happened in the woods making it back to him in bits and pieces, a puzzle that took most of the day for him to assemble and was still missing large sections. "Bill," he said quietly, crossing an empty lab, eye landing on each bruise, in turn, telling another side of the story. He came to a stop next to the cell, looking in on him.

**“I’m not in the mood, William,” Bill said, moving away from the door a little and groaning in pain as he did so. “Just go away,” he added before closing his eye to avoid looking at anything and anyone.**

Will was silent for several moments before quiet footsteps carried him away from the cell, to another part of the lab. He soon returned, though, and the steps were followed by the sound of a lock clicking as the demon unlocked the cell and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. As silent as he had been before, he knelt next to Bill.

**“I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!” Bill shouted, his eye turning red for a moment before he curled in on himself again, pain coursing through his body. Everything hurt in a way that Bill wasn’t used to handling.**

"You're in pain," he said, soft and sad. "And you don't really know what to do with that... I do. Let me help. I owe you."

**“You don’t owe me, now leave, I don’t care about the pain.” It was a lie, but he wasn’t in the mood to be around anyone and he knew he would end up hurting Will if he stayed.**

"Yes, I do. As you like to keep bringing up," he pointed out, watching him quietly. He wasn't going to be pushed away for once in his life. "And you... you do. Clearly. It's really obvious, Bill."

**“I’m going to ask you one more time: leave me alone.” The demon, with more than a bit of effort, stood up and walked to the farthest corner of the room, leaning against the wall to stop himself from falling.**

"Would you stop?" He asked, raising his voice slightly. "Please? Just stop. Stop acting like you weren't affected by what happened and like you aren't in pain- I'm offering my help, it would only be between the two of us. So stop being so.. so stubborn and sit down before you fall down." His voice was shaking by the end, but he clearly wasn't going to let it go.

**Bill closed his hands into fists and glared at the other demon. If he had had access to his power his hands would have been on fire by now. “Alright, you want me to accept I was affected by what happened? Okay, that’s true. You know what’s also true? It was your fault, if you weren’t so weak, so emotional, Pine Tree wouldn’t have been able to hurt you, nobody would have been able to hurt you and I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN STUCK FIXING YOUR DAMN PROBLEMS EVERY SINGLE TIME!”**

He was perfectly still for a moment, his breath hitching quietly. No, no, he wouldn't cry, he wasn't going to let Bill get to him. Not this time. Maybe later, but not when the other demon was hurting and upset and Will could do something about it. Slowly, he rose to his feet, moving closer. "I didn't ask you to fix this problem," he pointed out gently. "I wanted you to leave it alone. You decided that you had to go out and attack Dipper, because I had gotten attached following YOUR STUPID PLAN! Now sit down, and let me do this!"

**“See! You wouldn’t have gotten attached if you weren’t so weak! My plan was a great plan, I simply shouldn’t have trust someone like you with it.” It had worked, Dipper had been leaving him alone, now it was all a mess because Will’s emotions had to get in the way.**

"What did you think was going to happen!" He asked, throwing his arms out wide. "You put incredibly emotional me, who had just been rescued from a life of endless torture, with Dipper Pines- the nice version of Mason Gleeful, who, by the way, tricked me into having feelings for him! You had me, a copy of you, following him around constantly, and you didn't think there'd be any consequences?!" Angrily, he brushed the tears on his cheek away. "He loves you, and you didn't think that maybe, just maybe, having a nice version of you and a nice version of Mason together all the damn time would be a problem in any way?"

**Bill knew the other was right and he had always known this could happen, he simply had been hoping Pine Tree wouldn’t have made it so complicated. Of course, he wasn’t going to admit the other was right. “Maybe, just maybe, I expected you to be a professional about it,” he simply said and turned around, giving Will his back. “I never expect anything from anyone else, now I remember why. Leave, Will.”**

"No. You didn't," he said darkly, taking a deep breath to keep himself from dissolving into tears. "You just didn't care. I honestly don't understand why you're so protective over me, why you try and help so often- clearly, you only care about yourself." Setting the meager supplies down that he had brought to help, he turned on his heel and walked away. Just before he shut the cell door, he threw back one more heartbreakingly true statement. "I wish I hadn't come. That would be better than this." Locking the cell again, he made his way upstairs, rubbing at the tears that trailed down his face silently.

**Bill sighed and closed his eye, then he slumped against the wall and stayed there, unmoving. He couldn’t help it and he hated that he had hurt Will even more, but he had told him to leave him alone... He just wanted to be left alone, the bruises would eventually heal, they weren’t important, Will shouldn’t be wasting his time worrying about him.**

Will retreated to his room, keeping the others out this time. He knew he was weak and pathetic, Bill really didn't need to point it out again, but now he wanted to be alone. The house became deadly silent, especially considering how many people were there.

* * *

**Bill kept quiet for the rest of the day and the night as well, not talking to Dipper, not moving from his spot, nothing. He waited for his bruises to heal, expecting to feel better by the next day, but if anything he felt worse. His body wasn’t healing and he didn’t understand why. Did the bond stop that as well? He had no idea.**

Dipper had tried to keep to himself, masterfully avoiding his family and Will, when the demon decided to leave his room, that is. Which didn't really happen all that much. He didn't sleep with him that night, crashing in the living room instead, far enough that he was alone, close enough that he could help with a nightmare- which thankfully didn't happen. The next day, however, Will cornered him with a few soft words before pressing something into his hand.

Sighing softly, Dipper nodded, smiling at Will. Once the blue dream demon had moved on, he shook his head a little but went down to the lab anyway.

**Bill turned a little to lay on his side and see who he entered the lab. He had been expecting more company after Will the day before but had been grateful to be wrong. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this, definitely not Pine Tree. He groaned a little when he saw who was approaching and he turned around again, curling into himself in the corner of the cell where he had been laying down since Will had come to see him. “Didn’t he tell you I’m not in the mood to be bothered?”**

"No, but I gathered as much by him locking himself in his room from the moment he came up until five minutes ago when he talked to me," Dipper said calmly, looking over the demon. "What he did say was that you would be in pain because we exhausted your magic supplies and I had never let you have any more after the fight. So you aren't healing. He said he knows from experience; and that you'll probably want these." He shook a bottle of painkillers, ones he had never seen before but Will insisted were what Bill needed.

**“I don’t want anything from you, or anyone else for that matter,” the demon said, not giving the slight indication that maybe he would turn around and take them. He wasn’t planning to. “Actually, there’s only one thing I want from you but you won’t give it to me, even though you owe me, so there’s no point in even asking.” He wanted the ring, of course. “And if you knew what was good for you then you should have let Sixer shoot me.”**

"Keeping me nightmare free for one night is not equal to me handing you over the ring," he pointed out. "I owe you a night of controlling my dreams or something like that. And while it might have been better for me..." He shook his head, hating the pain in his chest. "It would have crushed Will."

**“Kid thinks he’s better off without me,” Bill pointed out and sighed, closing his eye once again. He really was in a lot of pain... But he could handle it, he had handled worse in the past, it had been long, sure, but he could do it. “I’m definitely better off without any of you and maybe this time the Axolotl would have put me in another dimension, to begin with, away from the people I hate the most.”**

"No, he doesn't. You could do anything to him and he wouldn't think that," Dipper countered, coming closer to the cell slowly. "Even after yesterday, he still wants you around. He sent me because he doesn't want to risk making you hate him. You already hate me, so..." He shrugged, looking over the clear bottle in his hand. "Yeah, maybe," he said casually, shaking the bottle again, just slightly.

**“Well, it doesn’t matter, you should start putting your needs before others’,” Bill didn’t even have the energy to be angry at himself for giving the human advice but it wasn’t like Dipper would listen to him, so it was fine. “What do I have to do to get you to leave?”**

"I do when I need to. But it's hard to do that with Will, especially when it's really clear he'd been crying." His voice was softer now, gaze lowered as he watched the demon. Counting the bruises that he could see, knowing there were probably more he couldn't. "You could... take two of these like Will wants?" He suggested.

**Bill sighed and finally turned around to look at Dipper. Of course the other would ask that... “Give me that damn bottle,” he said, stretching out his hand and waiting.**

Dipper barely stopped the wince at the sight of him, somehow keeping it off his face as he passed the bottle over.

**Bill opened it and took half of the pills inside, then he closed it and tossed it back at Dipper. “Now leave,” he said before turning around once again.**

Dipper caught it, watching him for just a few moments more before turning on his heel and walking away, back up the stairs and out of the lab. 

* * *

 

**Will was waiting for Dipper in the living room, sitting by the piano, tapping his feet anxiously. When the other walked in, he looked up at him with expectant eyes. “Did He take the pills?”**

Dipper nodded, setting the bottle down on top of the piano. "Yep, he did. Took a little convincing, but he took them." Hesitating for a moment, he took a seat at the piano, quietly tapping at the keys.

**Will sighed in relief and then glanced down at his lap, his shoulders dropping. He still felt pretty down, but he was glad Bill had stopped acting like a complete idiot. “Oh, you play too?” Will asked when the other started tapping at the keys. “I wanted to ask Bill to play for me, but...-“ he sighed- “you know.”**

"Oh, just a little," he said, shifting over to free a section of the bench for him, in case he wanted to come over. "Bill taught me a song, so I can play that one pretty well. But other then that, I can cobble together something. There's no real form to it or anything, but it's enjoyable." He paused. "Do you.. want me to play for you?"

**Will smiled a little, a real smile this time. Slowly he knew he would feel better again, like Dipper had said, he needed the bad emotions so that he could enjoy the good ones, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference otherwise. This seemed like a nice way to start feeling better. "I'd really like that," he told the human and sat next to him.**

Dipper smiled a little in return, nodding slightly. This could work out, they could still be friends. Still be close. And if... well, if Bill never got better... if Will still wanted something later... then maybe. Setting his hands back on the keys, he started to play.

**Will closed his eye and let the notes wash over him, allowing him to relax. Sure, Dipper was no Mozart, but he clearly had rough talent, it was only a matter of perfecting it, more practice and he would be really good. At some point Will, out of habit, rested his head on Dipper's shoulder, but as soon as he noticed when he had done, he straightened up again and put some distance between the two of them. "S-sorry," he mumbled.**

Dipper was blushing faintly, but shook his head a little and flashed a smile. “It’s okay,” he assured, stumbling over the keys a bit before finding his rhythm again. It would take some time for them to reach the same ease and relaxation that used to be between them, but Dipper thought they might be able to get there.

**Will took a deep breath and nodded. “O-okay,” he mumbled. The demon closed his eyes again and tried to focus on the music alone, like before, though it was still pretty hard to ignore the other’s proximity, he tried.**

Dipper bit his lip softly, nodding a little. This was a little awkward, but they could work through this. They had to, for the sake of each other and the peace in the household. He didn't want this constant tension between them. Without saying anything, he faded what he was playing into the song he had learned from Bill.

**“Oh... I... I know this song,” Will said and gulped. It didn’t exactly bring good memories, but Dipper was playing it and he didn’t really want him to stop. Maybe he would be able to connect this song to someone better now and not to Stanford.**

Dipper glanced over at Will, watching him. "This is the one Bill taught me," he said quietly, hesitating for a moment before he continued to play. "Do you... should I stop? I can play something else...?"

**Will shook his head and smiled a little, it was a sad smile. “Please go on,” he asked the other, keeping his eyes closed.**

Dipper nodded a little, dropping his eyes to the keys. "Alright," he murmured, continuing on with the song.

**Will listened and even hummed along at some point. When the other was done, he opened his eyes and only then he realized, touching his cheek, that he had been crying a little. “That was r-really good, Dipper,” he praised him. “Thank you for playing it.”**

Dipper turned to face Will, frowning slightly. "... Yeah, of course," he murmured. "What's wrong, Will?" He asked gently.

**Will shook his head and sighed. “It’s n-nothing.” He dried his tears with the sleeve of his sweater. “Stanford played that song to me...” He started explaining. “A-after really bad days.”**

Dipper very gently touched his knee, nodding slowly. "I'm sorry... I don't have to play it anymore, if you don't want me to. I don't want to bring up bad memories."

**Will shook his head again and smiled. “No, no, it’s fine, I like it when you play it,” he reassured the other man and moved a little closer before grabbing the hand on his knee and squeezing a little.**

Dipper smiled softly, nodding again. "Alright," he murmured, lowering his gaze slightly, breaking eye contact. They were really... really close. They probably shouldn’t be this close, not after... what happened. But Dipper couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

**Will kept his eyes on their joined hands and let a long minute pass before he let out a sad sigh and finally moved his hand away. He didn’t know exactly what he was expecting, he knew he shouldn’t expect anything, even less so after what had happened, but a little part of his brain always liked to cling to hope. “Well, I...” Will sighed and slowly started to stand up. “I w-won’t be bothering you for the rest of the day, I know you wanted to be alone.”**

Dipper pulled back slowly, shaking his head a little. Jesus... they were just hurting each other like this, it had to stop. But still. "I don't mind having you around, if you want to stay. I only like being alone because it's quiet, and you're... pretty quiet." He laughed softly.

**Will gulped a little and bit his lip. He wanted to stay, he really wanted to, he wanted to spend time with Dipper and pretend everything was okay... but it wasn’t and pretending wasn’t good for either of them. Will needed something that the human didn’t want or simply couldn’t give him. That was okay, he needed to accept that. The demon sighed and shook his head. “Oh, but I... I actually needed to do something, so...” Will gave Dipper a sad smiled and walked away.**

Dipper let him go, nodding. "Bye," he murmured, watching Will go. Why.. why did it have to be so hard? Why were things like this? He just wanted things to go right for once, just one time in his entire damn life- and he couldn't even have this. Groaning, he shut the cover over the keys and rested his head on the piano. 

* * *

 

 **Bill started feeling a lot better after he had taken the pills and, while he wouldn’t admit it, he was glad that Pine Tree had made him take them.** **_Hey, Pine Tree... Thank Will for the pills, will ya?_ ** **He would do it himself, but he didn’t think the other would want to see him right now and he would definitely be happier hearing it from Dipper.**

Dipper sighed a little, nodding against the piano. _I’ll let him know when I see him. Did they work then?_

 **_Yes, they did a good job,_ ** **he told the human as he flexed his muscles a little, feeling a bit stiff after practically not moving for a whole day.** **_How is he?_ **

_Good._ He sat up, shaking his head a little. _He’s... better, I guess. We’re avoiding each other a bit, still. But he seems better._

 **_You better fix this, Pine Tree..._ ** **Bill didn’t really want to feel the overwhelming need to kill the other again, not after how it had left him.**

 _I'm trying, Bill. But before I can really do much he needs time. It's how emotions work,_ he explained softly.

 **_Well, I can give you time, it’s not like I have another choice..._ ** **Right now he just wanted Will to be okay, he didn’t care much about anything else.**

 _Very true,_ he agreed, sighing softly. _I'm doing my best._

 **The demon rolled his eyes.** **_Try harder,_ ** **he said and then he shut up once again.**

 _Maybe you could try too,_ he snapped, standing and moving to his room.

**Bill sighed but didn’t reply. He knew he had to try harder too... he knew that he had only made Will’s mood worse, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.**

Dipper sighed softly, wrapping his arms around himself and laying in his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let us know what you think! - Alga


	10. If Things Were Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Dipper got on a 'not date'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of updates yesterday! I was out all day without my computer :( - Alga

**A whole week went by and Will continued to avoid Dipper, except at brief moments in which they would get way too close and the blue demon would get his hopes up... but then nothing would happen and he would feel horrible once again. It was the worst kind of situation, to be honest, at times Will even found himself thinking about going back to the Gleefuls, at least with them he knew what to expect.**

**Bill wasn’t showing signs of getting better either if anything he was even more hostile than usual and he refused to talk to Will -which he did for fear of hurting him even more-. Of course, that was what he showed to the outside world, but inside it was another issue. He kept having brief moments in which he remembered everything and then he was back to normal, lucky for him, they didn’t seem to be getting more often.**

Dipper was avoiding both of them, trying to keep his distance so his feelings for at least one of them would diminish. Actually, it was spreading- he was avoiding everyone while he tried to figure things out. Will was keeping his distance, which was... hard, but maybe good...? It helped a little. Except on the days when they slipped, and everything hurt again. 

And Bill... Bill wasn’t getting any better. And that hurt, so much, so much more than he ever thought it could. He didn’t know what to do anymore. Giving up was an option, and he could, but... 

He spent a lot of sleepless nights staring out the window, avoiding his thoughts and nightmares. And very quietly crying.

**Mabel didn’t know what to do either, more than once she would wake up in the middle of the night to grab a glass of water or simply go to the bathroom and she would notice her brother was still awake, often crying silently and she knew that if she asked him to talk about it then he would never do it. It was hard for her, for everyone really, the Stans didn’t know what to do either. Eventually, she decided to go and talk to Will, since Bill clearly wasn’t an option. She knocked softly on the blue demon’s door one night and waited for him to answer.**

Will opened the door a crack, smiling a little and stepping back so it could be opened more once he saw it was Mabel. “Hi, Mabel,” he murmured. “What can I help you with?” He was already backing up to let her in, taking a seat on his bed again.

**Mabel sighed and stepped into the room. She really hoped Will would be willing to help his brother, she knew he had been avoiding him lately... That was also part of the problem. “I think we need to talk about Dipper, Will...” she said, meeting the demon’s eye.**

He instantly lowered his gaze to his lap, letting out a shaky little breath. "Oh... Okay," he sighed, picking at his shirt.

**“He’s not doing okay at all, Bill isn’t showing signs of getting better and I think he needs to get out of the house, he needs a distraction,” Mabel explained. “I think you need one too?”**

Will sighed a little, shrugging slightly. "I.. yeah, but... I don't think it's a good idea if we do something... together, Mabel... Because I keep... getting my hopes up and being crushed because I know it's different."

**Mabel sighed and nodded a little. “I get it... I don’t want you to get hurt either,” she simply didn’t know what else to do, the last time she talked to Dipper, she had made things worse. “He was happier when you weren’t avoiding each other and I just... I thought maybe you two could go into town, walk around a bit, get away from the shack.”**

Will was quiet for a while, clearly thinking about it. He was happier when they weren't avoiding each other, too, and he really wanted things to be okay. If he could make them okay, at least for Dipper... "Alright," he finally agreed. "I can do that.."

**Mabel smiled widely and pulled Will into a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don’t know what to do about it anymore, I just... I hate seeing him like this and you too and I think this will be good.” Her hopes were high and she hoped, for the sake of the two of them, that she would be right about asking Will to do this.**

Will blinked, hugging her back tightly and nodding against her shoulder. "Right," he said softly, not really sure what to say to that. "When do you think I should get him?"

**“Well, maybe tomorrow? Or whenever you think you’re ready, I know this won’t be easy for either of you at first.” But still, she hoped. Mabel sighed. “You could go to the movies or to the mall, grab dinner... the possibilities are endless.”**

“Tomorrow might be good... or I might chicken out,” he laughed weakly. “The mall might be good...” not really romantic, a lot of other people... yeah. That might be a good idea.

**Mabel nodded. “Yeah I thought that was the best option too,” she said. The movies could have the negative effect considering that had been Dipper’s and Bill’s only date, as far as Mabel knew.**

Will managed a small smile, nodding again. “Okay,” he murmured, looking down again and letting out a soft sigh.

**Mabel sighed as well and patted Will’s shoulder a little. “I’ll be fine, Will, I’m sure,” she reassured him and then she stood up from the bed. “Do you want my help picking what you’ll wear tomorrow?”**

“I could show you some things I was thinking about?” He suggested, standing as well and moving to his closet. “Cause I really like this one...” he pulled out the blue sweater with black triangles.

**“Oh, but you use that one all the time, you must have something else that you like,” she said and walked closer to the closet. Maybe Dipper had bought the clothes with Bill in mind and had only changed the color, so Will maybe didn’t like the style?**

"... It's my favorite..? And this isn't a date, so I don't really need to dress up?" He said quietly, putting it away. Besides... he wanted something he felt comfortable in for his first trip out into town. "What do you think I should wear?"

**Mabel but her lip and shook her head. “No, no, you’re right...” She got way too excited in this kind of situations but she had to remember that this wasn’t like that. “The sweater is nice.”**

"I like other things," he murmured, pointing out several more of his favorites. "The sweater is... it's really soft and warm and comfortable. And crowds make me nervous, so I thought..." Shrugging, Will focused forward, riffling through shirts in various shades of blue and degrees of niceness.

**Mabel shook her head again and smiled at Will. “You should use what makes you the most comfortable,” she told him.”**

He smiled back, nodding as he looked over his clothing again. For a moment, he seemed stuck on some of his nicer, things he hadn't really had a chance to wear yet- button-ups and vests. In a different world, at a different time... Sighing a little, he pulled out the sweater again.

**Mabel smiled when the other took the sweater and she grabbed the nicest pair of pants she could find. “These will look good, I’m sure,” she handed Will the pants and then yawned. “Anything else I could help you with?”**

"Thank you." Will carefully laid out the clothing, smiling a little. "Hmm? Oh, no, please go get some rest, Mabel."

**“Okay.” Mabel pulled Will into another hug. “Goodnight, Will,” she told him before leaving the room and heading back to the attic.**

Will hugged her back. "Goodnight, Mabel," he murmured, watching her leave before getting ready for bed.

 

**The next morning Will woke up early, like usual and put on the clothes Mabel and him had chosen for the day. He didn’t get out of his room until after midday though and more than once he thought about chickening out of the day out with Dipper. The only thing that made him eventually come out and look for the human was that he didn’t want to disappoint Mabel and he truly wanted Dipper to be okay.**

Dipper slept in, a product of not sleeping the night before, but eventually, he did end up leaving his room. A quick breakfast, a walk near the edge of the woods. Sitting at the piano and playing softly when Will made his appearance. Glancing up, he forced a smile. "Hi."

**Will gulped and almost turned around, already regretting a little his decision to tell Mabel he would do this. He could see past the fake smile and he hated how much that gesture reminded him of Mason Gleeful. "G-good morning, Dipper," Will greeted him and walked closer.**

Dipper shifted slightly- obviously, something he was doing had upset the other, and at the moment he couldn't figure out what it was. The smile fell and he forced himself to relax. "How was your night?" He asked softly, focusing on the keys again.

**Will sat next to Dipper and smiled a little. "It was okay, I can't remember what I dreamt..." That was a lie, his mind had been the worst and he had dreamt about Dipper. And him. On a date. "What about yours?"**

Dipper nodded. "Yeah, mine was alright too. Took a while for me to fall asleep, but it could have been worse." His dreams weren't helping, they were just as confused as he was. A constant back and forth between Will and Bill, mixed with them both in life or death situations.

**Will nodded and then he kept silent for almost two awkward minutes before he finally took a deep breath and... "I was... I was wondering if maybe you'd like to show me the town, I haven't been outside the shack or the woods and I would like to see the town, walk around a bit, we don't have to stay for too long I just need to get away from this place for an hour or two, nothing more," Will started rambling.**

Dipper stopped playing, gently touching his arm. "Sure, Will," he said quickly, reassuring him. "We can go to town; I should have shown you around a long time ago. Just give me a few minutes to get ready, right? I'll be down soon." He smiled, standing and patting his arm before heading up to his room to get dressed. This might be a really bad idea, but he wanted to do this. Wanted to spend time with Will.

**Will sighed in relief when the human agreed to show him around town, he really had been worried about being rejected again. It was going to be fine, they would have a nice time together, as friends and then both of them would feel a lot better. Yes. It was a good plan. It would work, he had to think it would.**

Dipper let out several breaths once he was in the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. This would be good for them, he knew it would. It would help them get back what they had. It needed to. Nodding firmly, he headed down the stairs once more. "Alright, all set. Do you want to walk to town, or drive?"

**"Driving sounds good," Will said and stood up to follow Dipper. He had the feeling that the sooner they got to the town the easier would be to avoid possible awkward silences.**

Dipper grabbed his keys, scribbling a note so the others would know where they were. “Alright. Let’s go, then,” he smiled, opening the door for Will before climbing in. He was quick to switch on the radio, loud enough that the silence wasn’t awkward, but quiet enough that they could still talk

**At first, Will didn't know what to say, so he just sat in silence and listened to the radio. Eventually, the awkwardness of the situation made him want to talk though, hating that it felt like they couldn't really do that anymore. "Have you been visiting Bill?" He asked, his tone so quiet that it was barely audible over the sound of the radio.**

Dipper tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “.. a couple times. But he, uh... doesn’t really talk to me. He hadn’t even been complaining about my dreams lately, so it’s... it’s been doing more harm than good.”

**Will nodded and looked down at his lap. "I know I should visit him... I said I'd help but..." Will started fidgeting with the hem of his sweater. Bill had really hurt him the last time and he didn't think he would be able to handle that again, at least not soon.**

“Don’t, Will... Don’t worry about that. If you can’t handle seeing him right now, then that is completely fine. Your mental and emotional health are too important, alright?” He insisted, firm but not harsh.

**The blue dream demon took a deep breath and nodded. "Right," he murmured and glanced at Dipper. "I just wish I could help more, I know you're not doing okay because of that," he said. And because of me, he thought and looked away again.**

Dipper shook his head firmly. “No, Will,” he said. “I’m a mess, but that’s not your fault. I’ve always been a mess. So don’t worry, okay? There really wasn’t anything you could have done. I just... I don’t know, have to accept my fate at this point.”

**"I simply wish I could have helped more..." the blue demon said and using the past tense felt so final... But no matter how much he wanted to believe Bill would change and be the demon that Dipper had told him he was, it really didn't seem like it would happen.**

“You did your best, Will. That’s all I can ask for,” he assured, casting a smile over at the dream demon. Soon enough, he was parking, climbing out of the car and opening Will’s door. “Where do you want to go first?”

**"I was thinking we could go to the mall or just walk around for a bit and later go to Gravity Falls lake?" He assumed they had a lake here as well since it was basically the same town as his. "I thought about the mall yesterday, but there might be a lot of people and crowds make me nervous."**

Dipper nodded. “The mall will quiet down in a couple hours, we could go then. But just a walk would be nice, there are some little shops and parks and things,” he suggested, smiling faintly.

**"Sounds perfect," Will said and reached for Dipper's thigh but stopped half-way there, realizing what he was doing. He shook his head and moved his hand back to his side before looking away.**

Dipper let out a breath. “It’s okay,” he assured, gently touching his shoulder. “I... Yeah. I do the same thing. Let’s go, okay? Get out there.”

**Will took a deep breath and nodded before getting out of the car. It was a little frustrating that they clearly were on the same page, both trying to repress feelings they thought they weren't allowed to have... And wasn't that grand? Repressing his feelings was what Bill did all the time and they were trying to make him stop while doing that themselves at the same time. Do as I say, not as I do, right?**

Dipper climbed out as well, shaking his head a little to clear his thoughts. This was... total bullshit, really. When they got right down to it, it was the pair of them suppressing feelings instead of just trying to deal with it. So... alright. He had a plan. If today went well, he and Will were going to sit down somewhere nice, and calm and quiet, and they were going to talk. Because this was... ridiculous, and it wasn't good for them, and clearly they needed some sort of release. Whether that was... trying to move on, or Dipper figuring out his shit with Bill and Will, that was that.

**This Gravity Falls felt a lot more inviting than his own -probably because the Gleefuls weren't basically ruling it- and Will immediately felt like he was welcomed there, which made him relax quite a lot. Maybe today would be a little awkward between him and Dipper, but Mabel was right, they both needed to get out of the shack and this? This was the perfect way to do it, as much as Will didn't like crowds, being around other people would be good.**

Dipper happily led him through the streets- not too crowded, considering the time of the year, they were expecting snow soon. He greeted people he knew, letting Will decide on whether or not he wanted to talk to any of them. He didn't want to push him into anything he didn't want, after all. He also pointed out shops and little things they could also do, before stopping outside one. "We should get you a winter coat, and boots," he commented. "We should be getting snow. That one," he pointed out a shop down a side road, "has some really good options, its where I've gotten mine the past few years. Do you want to do that? Or wait? Or get them at the mall instead?" He offered.

**Will interacted as little as possible with everyone, saying only 'hello' and 'goodbye' and maybe sometimes introducing himself as Will, which earned the two f them knowing looks from the locals that the blue demon didn't fully understand and was afraid to ask about. When Dipper pointed at the shop he spotted a coat on the window display and he completely fell in love with it, so he nodded enthusiastically and smiled at Dipper. "Now is good, but... I- I don't want you to spend too much on me, Dipper, you already bought me so many clothes...." And it wasn't like the cold would affect him that much, even if he was weak because he didn't have that much access to his powers.**

Dipper shook his head, smiling a little as he led the way to the shop. "It's alright, Will. You'll need it, and you deserve nice things. Besides, this place isn't that expensive, it won't break the bank or anything. Just come pick out a coat." There were a couple he saw that he thought would look good, perfect of how tall and lean Will was.

**"Alright," Will said and followed Dipper into the shop. He really needed to find a better way to repay the human, cooking didn't cut it anymore and with how much he had been avoiding him, he felt like he needed to atone for that too.  But now wasn't the time to think about that, so Will went through the different coats they had on display and ended up picking up three to try them, the one they had showing on the window and two more.**

Dipper stood back to let him look, hands folded behind his back as he waited with a small smile. He didn't mind watching Will look through the coats, liked knowing that he could give the demon the chance to pick something for himself, that he really liked. "Those our options?" He asked, moving closer.

**Will nodded and handed Dipper two of the coats, then tried on the third one. "What do you think?" He asked once he was ready, turning around after a moment to show Dipper the back and also look at himself in one of the mirrors. He liked it, so this one was definitely one of the options. He hoped picking one wouldn't be too hard, because he also really liked the other ones...**

Dipper held on to the coats, looking at Will and blushing faintly. "It looks really nice, Will," he complimented, smiling a little. "How about you try on all the ones you like and we can pick out which one is the best."

**Will nodded and took off the coat he had just tried on, then handed it to Dipper and took one of the others. He repeated the process, turning around once so that the human could take a good look and then he did the same with the last coat. Once he was done he had no idea which one to choose, he liked all of them and felt comfortable in all of them. Will loved coats, well, he loved winter clothes in general, he was a little self-conscious about this form he had and he liked how comfortable sweaters, coats, and jerseys made him feel. "Which one do you think I should pick? I can't make up my mind," he told Dipper, blushing a little.**

Dipper smiled a little as he watched, helping where he could and looking over the options as they came up. In the end, they were left with three fairly different coats that all looked really, really nice on the lean body before him. "Um... I liked this one," he said, holding up the second one. "But I'm really biased towards longer coats."

**Will huffed a laugh and nodded. "I like that one too," he said and grabbed it to try it on again. It was nice and warm and it hugged his figure just right. "I'll take it," the demon finally decided and then pulled Dipper into a hug. "Thank you, for this and for everything you've done," he murmured in the other's ear. He was glad he had decided to visit the town with Dipper, Mabel had been right, he felt a lot better now.**

Dipper laughed softly, wrapping his arms around Will in return and keeping him close. "Yeah... Yeah, of course, Will. You're welcome, but you don't have to thank me for this," he said softly, keeping the hug going for a few moments longer before stepping back. "We should get a pair of boots, while we're here," he added, smiling a little as he gently adjusted the coat, smoothing it down slightly. "Ones that match."

**"Of course I have to thank you," Will said, looking down at his feet and blushing a little. How could he not thank Dipper after all the trouble he had gone through just for him? After he had to deal with the blue demon's crush and everything? When the other mentioned getting boots, the blue-haired demon nodded and went to the part of the store where they kept the boots.**

"You've thanked me plenty of times, is what I meant," he assured, touching his shoulder gently. "You don't have to keep thanking me, its implied." He was teasing a little, trying to lighten the mood again. Heading over to that section, Dipper started picking out sets that would look nice with the coat and still be warm.

**Will nodded in understanding. "I suppose that's right..." He would try to stop thanking the other so much. Will focused back on the task at hand and tried on every pair of boots that the other got for him, eventually settling for the one that was the most comfortable to walk with.**

Dipper gave him a thumbs up. "Looking good William," he grinned, nodding a little. "Take it off and I'll pay for everything."

**Will blushed a little and nodded, then took everything off and put on his shoes once again. Now he couldn't wait for the weather to get even colder so that he would be able to use the coat and boots. He didn't only like them because they were nice, but the fact that he and Dipper had bought them together made them even more special for him.**

Dipper brought the coat and the boots up to the register, a pleased smile on his face. This was a wonderful way to spend their time, and he wanted to do this more often. Chatting with the worker for a few minutes, he paid and slid the bag over his arm before heading back to the blue demon. "All set! Anywhere you want to go next, or should we just keep walking?"

**"Maybe we could go to the lake?" Will asked and took the bags from Dipper so that he wouldn't have to carry them. "I feel like I had enough interaction with other people already."**

Dipper laughed. "That's understandable. Sure, we can go to the lake. It's kind far, so we can take the car. It'll give us a chance to drop off the bags."

**Will nodded and followed Dipper to the car. He really hoped Dipper was feeling better like he was, after all, this whole thing was to make him happy, not Will.**

Dipper smiled at him, unlocking the car and waiting for Will to be ready before heading to the lake. "Hey, Will? I'm really glad we're doing this," he said quietly, smiling softly.

**The demon smiled a little and nodded. "I'm glad too, I really needed to clear my head a little, get out of the shack..." As much as he had grown to love the place, as much as it felt like home, he really had been starting to feel a little restless in there, even more so with everything that had happened. "I'm really sorry about... avoiding you lately..."**

"Yeah, so did I. Things have been.. really tense lately," he agreed, sighing a little. "It's okay, I've been avoiding you, too. I'm sorry... maybe we could.. try and fix that."

**Will smiled shyly and nodded. "I'd like that," he said, glancing away as his cheeks turned a little pink. He had to remind himself that he couldn't get his hopes up, he didn't want to end up hurt but damn if it wasn't hard not to...**

Dipper was blushing as well, being sure to keep his eyes directly on the road. He didn’t want to hurt the demon, that was the farthest thing from his mind, but... he still wanted him around. Wanted him close. And maybe he just needed to figure things out again, but hopefully, they’d be able to have that. 

Soon, they arrived at the Lake, parking again.

**Will got out of the car and waited for Dipper to do the same before he walked closer to the water, closing his eyes as the breeze moved his hair, getting it out of the way of his face. He didn’t mind much about that now that he had the eyepatch Dipper had given him. “This place is the same,” he mentioned, not really sure if Dipper was listening. “I wasn’t allowed to come here often.”**

Dipper followed him down to the water, enjoying the slightly chilled breeze that came off the lake. If Will had been rescued a little earlier, they could have gone swimming. As it was, it was already too cold to be enjoyable. “Why not?” He asked quietly.

**Will shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because I liked the place?” It was a lake, not the ocean, sure, but it gave Will a sense of freedom in a way. He was sure Mason didn’t like that. “I came twice. Once with Mason, he had to search for something at the bottom of the lake and needed my help,” the demon explained. “Once on my own, I sort of escaped. Best three hours of my life.” Will let out a bitter laugh.**

Dipper winced, shaking his head a little and coming a little closer. That wasn’t fair, it was just a lake for Christ’s sake. “We’ll have to come for often, then. Once it gets cold and it freezes, we can go ice skating on it,” he suggested. “And swimming in the summer.”

**“I’d love that, Dipper,” Will said and allowed himself to move a little bit closer to the other guy. He missed that, the closeness, the little touches, but he knew going with that wasn’t a good idea.**

Dipper slid his hands in his pockets, smiling a little. “Awesome. That’s what we’ll do, then,” he hummed, watching the water for several moments in silence. They should talk, figure out where they stood, but he was loath to break the peace between them.

**The demon smiled and rested his head on Dipper's shoulder. This was perfect, really, he felt like he did at the beginning, full of hope, with a sense of wonder. "Please tell me you're feeling as happy as I am," he finally asked Dipper, breaking the silence and turning to look at him.**

Dipper shifted a little closer to make it easier for the demon to rest against him, dropping a hand down to gently slide his fingers against Will’s wrist. “I don’t know how happy you are,” he pointed out lightly. “But I’m... really very happy. Happiest I’ve been in weeks.”

**Will chuckled a little. He hadn't laughed in weeks, it was amazing how much better he felt now that he felt maybe he fixed his mistake. "Well, I'm just as happy," he said and took a deep breath, then sighed and closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face.**

Dipper grinned slowly, laughing a little. This was good, right? They deserved to be happy. Dipper deserved it, at least once in a while. “Good,” he murmured, gently resting his head against Will’s, nuzzling against his hair gently.

**Will moved away after a moment and took Dipper's hand to guide him closer to the lake and to a log they could lay against if they sat down, that would definitely be more comfortable than standing. Once they were both seated, Will rested his head on Dipper's shoulder once again and placed a hand on the human's thigh, where he drew little circles. He felt like he was allowed now.**

Dipper went along willingly, settling down against the log. Humming just a little, he shifted closer, sliding his arm around Will’s shoulders to gently drag his fingers over his arm. All was quiet, and peaceful, and...  near perfect.

**Will let himself enjoy the moment for a few more minutes, just being close to Dipper, enjoying the gentle caresses, it was perfect... Well, near perfect, there were still a lot of issues hanging in the air, issues they needed to address eventually and he had the feeling Dipper wanted to do that now. Eventually, Will sighed and sat upright again, turning a little to look at the human. "You want to talk about something, don't you?" He asked.**

Dipper let Will pull away, turning to face him a little better than before. Pausing, he let out a sigh before nodding a little. “I don’t particularly want to talk about it,” he began, lowering his eyes. “I just think... we probably should talk about...” he flailed for a moment, waving a hand between the pair of them. “Us, I guess. What this is and what we want it to be? Because I don’t want to hurt you again, I know I have been.”

**Will sighed and looked away. “It doesn’t have to be anything if you don’t want to, I’m used to having unrequited feelings anyway...” The demon said and put on a fake smile. “I know you love Bill and that’s fine, I know that that time you only kissed back because we look the same.” Except for the color difference, of course. “I might not be happy all the time around you because of that, but you still make me happy, even if we can’t have what I want and I don’t want us to keep ignoring each other. We can be friends...”**

That wasn’t the only reason. Everything Will said hurt, digging into his chest and plucking at his feelings, pointing out every time he’d thought about the blue demon. And the things he knew about himself and his sexuality and capacity to love. And now he had a choice- he could tell the truth, and make things harder for both of them, or lie and hopefully make it so Will could let him go and move on. Stop getting hurt because of Dipper’s choices and thoughts. 

“You make me happy, too. And I don’t want to lose that,” he said, starting easy, not sure where to go. “And I don’t expect you to be happy all the time, around me or not- that’s ridiculous under normal situations..”

**"I suppose you're right about that," Will had spent decades feeling terrible all the time, sometimes it was hard to remember how emotions were supposed to really work. The blue demon sighed and looked away, towards the water. It sounded like Dipper wanted to be just friends... That was fine, he had been expecting that, he shouldn't feel disappointed again, they were having such a wonderful day...**

Dipper was silent for a while, watching the lake. He didn’t want to hurt him anymore, but he also didn’t feel like it was fair that he hid his feelings. This day was supposed to be about not doing that anymore. Finally, he let out a slow sigh, pulling his knees close to his chest and bowing his head. “If things were different,” he mumbled.

**Will glanced at the human and gave him a confused look. "W-what do you mean?" If things were different how? If Dipper could return his feelings? If he hadn't fallen in love with Bill first?**

“Just... I can think of a lot of situations where things would be better,” he said simply. “Cause...” damn. He should, right? It would be best... right? If he did, then everything would be out and they could work past it. “Dammit, Will, I really like you.”

**Will gulped and closed his eyes. He couldn't get his hopes up... "A-as a friend?" Going by the way the other had said it and how reluctant he had been to say it, it certainly didn't seem that was the case, but the demon had to make sure.**

He hunched his shoulders a little more. “Is that what you want me to say?” He asked gently.

**Will looked away and bit his lip. "I want you to be honest with me, don't just say something to spare my feelings," he replied.**

“Fine.” He looked up at Will of a sad smile. “If things were different? In any of the many ways I’ve thought of? This,” he gestured around them. “Would be a date. And I’d probably have kissed you by now.”

**Will blushed hard and hid his face in his sweater as much as possible to hide the blush from Dipper -and the really wide smile he had on his face. "B-but things are not different..." He murmured and then sighed. "I don't want to hurt Bill either." But it really didn't seem like Bill would mind... and so far they had had no luck getting the demon's feelings back.**

Dipper laughed, a little dark. “Because Bill cares, right?” He mumbled, folding his arms across his knees and resting his head there. “... I know. I guess I’m just a little too hopeful that one day he’ll just wake up and be the same as he was before.”

**Will gulped and lowered his gaze. He didn't want to believe Bill didn't care, but that was what he had been showing them. Will had shouted it to the blue demon's face, maybe he needed to start believing his own words, as hurtful as they were. "How was he before?" Will found himself asking after a long moment of silence.**

Dipper smiled slowly, looking over at the demon. “He was... kind,” he started softly. “He’d play the piano for me when things were rough and stay up to keep my nightmares away. We fought and stuff, but we were always close and we helped each other. He got me through more than one panic attack. Bill... learned every horrible, awful thing I’d gone through and done to myself and used that information to help. Somehow he even managed to try and get along with Ford.” He paused, before laughing weakly. “He promised that no matter what happened during the ritual, nothing would change. It’s the only time he ever broke his word- to me, at least.”

**Will listened to Dipper's answer and thought about how Bill was acting now, which was... well like he usually acted around others except Will. "He used to be like that with me," Will explained and grabbed a few rocks, which then he threw one by one to the lake. "He would try really hard to make it seem like he didn't care, but maybe he did, at some point," Will simply thought that time had turned Bill way too bitter and he didn't care anymore, about anyone. "When we first met each other was because Bill wanted to make sure there would be no parallel dimension to his own still standing... Mine was the only one and we met and he realized that I was suffering in there but I was too afraid to act so..." Will let out a bitter laugh. "He didn't need to destroy it, he could have gotten me out, but well, he always exaggerates a little." Then again, maybe if his family were still alive they would have gone looking for him.**

Dipper nodded slowly, watching him. If Bill’s dimension was anything like Will’s, maybe this was his chance to learn. “Yeah, he was always like that,” he laughed a little. “He was going to destroy the entire town if anything happened to me.” He paused, tipping his head a little. “Can I... ask you to talk about your dimension?”

**Will laughed a little. "That sounds like him..." Bill had been a little more open to accepting his feelings when Will and he had met, maybe becoming human had given him back that, but feelings or not, Will knew Bill would never want to be human forever, so getting rid of his powers again wasn't a possibility.**

**When Dipper asked about his dimension, Will's expression became a little darker and he looked away, back to the water. "What do you want to know?"**

He laughed a little, thinking back to that time, with them together on his bed and laughing about how Bill would level to town to protect him. And how much he liked that. Pausing, he moved close enough so that their shoulders were pressed together. “Anything you’re comfortable telling me. You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want.”

**Will nodded a little and took a deep breath. "It was... bad. My family... They basically had me prisoner in our home. They said they didn't want me to leave because they were protecting me, that it was for my own good, but it wasn't." The demon leaned against Dipper needing to be closer to the other. "I can only a-assume my m-mother... She must have been afraid of my power because I could end up being more powerful than everyone in my dimension." They had probably acted out of fear, fear to lose their power to him. "Nobody wanted t-to help me get away, I- I had no friends."**

Dipper slid his arm around the other, effectively tucking Will into his side as he listened. Smoothing a hand down his arm again, he let out a soft breath. That was awful... no wonder Bill was so protective. Still, even though he didn’t really show it. “So... Bill saved you,” he prompted gently.

**Will huffed a bitter laugh and nodded. "I was too weak to save myself." The demon took a long moment to compose himself once again. "I don't know if it was the same for Bill, he never told me much about his dimension, he always told me it was a dimension of flat minds in a flat world with flat dreams," Will explained to Dipper.**

“... I don’t think he did well in his dimension. Just from what I know. His favorite constellation and things,” he commented, shrugging a little, not nearly enough to risk dislodging Will from his place. “I’m sorry. That you’ve had so much bad in your life.”

**"It's fine, all of that is in the past, it happened millions of years ago," the blue demon reassured Dipper and smiled a little, then he buried his face in the human's neck. "Now I'm okay, more than okay even." Even if he knew them being together wasn't a possibility in Dipper's mind, because of Bill -or at least that was what Will thought-, just knowing that Dipper returned his feelings was enough to make the demon happy.**

“Still, I know it affected you and I hate that it happened,” he murmured, turning his head just a little so he could nuzzle against the soft blue hair. “But I’m glad things are better now. Even if it is a little complicated right now,” he laughed a little against his head.

**Will nodded a little and kissed Dipper's neck, freezing when he realized what he had done. He didn't pull away though, instead, he waited to see the other's reaction. Yes, things were complicated, but it had been more than a month since Will had come to this dimension and Bill was worse than when he had first arrived...**

Dipper paused but didn’t pull away. Dammit... Bill wasn’t getting better, and he wanted to be happy. He was tired of sleepless nights and crushed hopes and this constant waiting. So he wasn’t going to push Will away. For once, he was going to take what he wanted. Instead, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head.

**Will's heart started beating faster and he tentatively kissed Dipper again, then pulled away to look at the other in the eyes. He wanted this to work and it seemed Dipper wanted it as well. For once he wanted to be the selfish one, he knew that if he ended up hurting Bill, he would regret it for the rest of his life, but right now he wanted to think about himself alone. Bill wasn't getting any better. The blue demon leaned forward and pressed a shy kiss to Dipper's lips.**

Dipper blinked slowly, smiling a little nervously as their eyes met for a moment. He wanted, by god, and he was going to do what he wanted. He knew, later, if Bill made any improvements, this would become a problem. But it didn’t seem like he would, and the old Bill would have wanted him to have a chance at happiness. So... he returned the kiss, resting a hand on the back of Will’s head and tangling his fingers with the blue strands gently.

**While Bill would have deepened the kiss immediately, Will kept it innocent and pulled away after a couple of seconds, smiling shyly at the ground. He preferred things to go slow, after what had happened to him he didn't think he would be ready for more anytime soon, but he knew Dipper would understand better than anyone. "That was nice," he murmured and finally glanced up at Dipper. It was way better than their first kiss because there was no regret behind it.**

Dipper was perfectly alright with slow and innocent and careful- that’s what usually happened when he led things anyway, and he had a feeling he’d be doing more of the leading this time around. Will needed good experiences. “Yeah, that was really nice,” he agreed, kissing his forehead gently.

**Will blushed a little and then rested his head on Dipper's shoulder again and closed his eyes. If he had felt good before now he felt ten times better, it was like he was seeing the world in color for the first time in ages.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let us know if you're liking the story so far! - Alga


	11. Bill has the worst timing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That time when Bill finally got back and thought he would resist not having his way with Dipper until the other was truly past everything that had happened while he was gone… (or that time the inconsistencies of an RP simply show?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I feel like it's necessary from now on to remind everyone that this is not exactly a fanfic, this is a roleplay I've been writing with NightWing18 for about a year now and, after this point, our replies stopped being as frequent as they used to and college and life got in the way... Which means this is bound to have writing inconsistencies. Really, it's to be expected, most of what you read so far wasn't planned, we just made it up as we went about writing it! So anyway, hope you still enjoy it!
> 
>   
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> 
> ALSO SMUT WARNING (be ready to read a lot of sex, don't know exactly what happened to us at this time of the year, there's a lot). PLEASE READ THE TAGS BILL IS A DEMON NOW, DON'T FORGET THAT, AND NIGHT AND I HAVE REALLY FILTHY MINDS. Because I don't want you to hate me I put a *** where the kinky part starts and where it ends, it does have plot in a way though... sorry :/- Alga 

The next few weeks passed in a pleasurable blur. Dipper and Will were practically always together, though they weren’t very public with their relationship. Not yet, not with something so new and fragile and still… complicated. It was different from what he had with Bill. They both had their wonderful parts and different things he liked can they were just... different. And that was good. He liked it. 

And Will seemed good, too, which made things a million times better. He was still trying with Bill, of course, but with the demon continued refusing to have anything to do with him, there wasn’t much Dipper could do. 

Which was why Will was coming down to visit him, 17 days exactly after the kiss on the beach. “Hi, Bill..?” He said, voice light and happy but still questioning whether or not this was even wanted.

**Bill was... still complicated, but lucky for him -or unlucky, depending on whether you asked Jekyll or Hyde- the episodes he had been having had started to become less frequent. He assumed it was because he hadn't been in contact with Will as much as before, which was why, when the blue demon made his way to the lab, Bill cursed under his breath. "What do you want, William?" He asked while keeping his eyes on the wall and giving the other his back.**

Will paused, hesitating before coming a little closer. It was amazing, really, just how fast Bill could destroy his confidence with just one sharply spoken sentence and a refusal to look at him. "... I... I just wanted to see how you were," he said quietly, voice dropping.

**"Still trapped, still bound to the stupid Pine Tree, still bored as hell because he still hasn't repaid me for the last thing I did for him," If Bill recalled correctly -and he always did-, Dipper still owed him a night of controlling his dreams. "What about you? What have you been doing?" Bill finally turned to look at Will with a knowing look. "Pine Tree has been dreaming a lot about you..."**

"Maybe if you actually talked to him he'd remember," he said quietly folding his arms over his chest and staring off to the side. "You can't expect him to remember everything." Blushing slowly, he smiled a little. "Oh... oh, you know. Things are just really nice right now."

**Bill chuckled a little and rolled his eye. "You don't say... So, in the end, my plan worked, just not for me, since I still can't figure out how to get out of these." The demon shook his shackles a little and then he sat down, letting out a long sigh. "Good for you... At least Pine Tree remembered to fix his mess." Will looked happy and Bill was glad for that. Well... he sort of was, in the far back of his mind, a little part of him that spent most time asleep, was screaming.**

"I don't think he's just... going to let you out..?" He pointed out, finally feeling confident enough to come up to the cell again. His smile was starting to come back, brightening his features and soothing his nerves. "... Can I come into the cell? I miss doing things with you."

**"Of course Pine Tree won't let me out, even if I sign a contract that wouldn't allow me to destroy the town he would still hold me down by those chains." He was a wise kid, but Bill never said that. "Alright, Will..." Bill sighed and cleared a spot on the blanket fort for the other demon to sit down.**

Will brightened, quickly unlocking the cell and climbing into the blanket fort to snuggle down next to Bill. "Thank you," he smiled.

**Bill sighed and put a little distance between them. "I’d take it Pine Tree is completely over me then? Or I still have to deal with that?"**

Will's smile slipped a little when Bill moved away, a little farther when that was brought up. "He's not over you..."

**"Ugh..." He had thought he would have gotten rid of that problem once things started going better between Dipper and Will. "How long have you been 'a thing'?"**

"17 days," he said promptly, blushing again as his smile strengthened just a little. "It's really nice... we're being really slow and careful."

**"No wonder he keeps dreaming about you, humans and their needs..." Will was probably frustrating Dipper a little, what with taking things slow and all that. "Can't you pick up the pace a bit? Maybe action will finally make him get over me."**

He flushed instantly, curling up a little tighter. Instantly, his anxiety skyrocketed; what if he wasn't doing well enough, could Dipper want something more, was this a reason he still wanted Bill? Etc. "I.. I, uh, no, I don't... That wouldn't be... I don't think..."

**Bill noticed the other’s distress and moved a little closer, trying to provide some comfort. He really hated that he couldn’t stop being protective over the blue demon. “You know what? Forget about it, it’s not like it’ll change anything for me,” he sighed.**

Will took several shuddering breaths, hoping to calm down, leaning the slightest bit closer to take some of the comfort he needed. “Dipper likes this,” he said, nodding firmly. “Me... me going faster isn’t going to change him either, however.”

**"So I'm stuck here until the stupid fleshbag dies, great, just what I need, 70 years stuck on this dimension," Bill complained and rubbed his eye. "And he isn't even going to care because he will be happy with you, so I can't even make him miserable!" Not without making Will miserable as well and the yellow demon really didn't want to do that again.**

Will smiled a little sadly, shaking his head. “Trust me- he cares. He cares a lot.”

**"He only cares about turning me into a weak half-human again, he only cares about feelings and if he could he would take my powers again to bring that part of me back," Will said, growing angrier with each word until he had to stop and take a deep breath to stop himself from blowing off on Will. "But only the Axolotl can do that."**

“He wants you to remember,” he corrected carefully, knowing that everything he was about to say could bring Bill one step closer to screaming at him. “Just remember, I think. Because, I think.. if you remembered everything, and still decided that Dipper meant nothing to you and that you wanted to move on... he’d let you. He’d make a bunch of deals to keep the town and himself safe, but he’d let you go.”

**"Remembering..." The yellow demon looked away, at some of the drawings he had made on the walls. There were a few he couldn't remember, probably the ones he had done during his brief episodes in which he did remember. "You know how powerful memories are."**

Will followed his gaze, looking over the drawings. “I know,” he said quietly, rubbing his arm slowly. “But it might be the only way to get what you want. If nothing is ever going to make you love him again, he needs to know that, so he can let go. He doesn’t know that yet.”

**Bill shook his head. "Oh, I feel so sorry, for him," his said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "That's not going to happen, Will, I'm not going to lose myself to a few memories that represent less than a tiny grain of sand in the span of my lifetime."**

“It’s not about feeling sorry for him,” he mumbled. “And from what I understand, that tiny grain of sand might be some of the most important memories you’ll have,” he countered, sitting back a little with the tiniest smile.

**Bill stood up and moved away from Will. "If you came here just to convince me of trying to change or get those memories back, I'm going to ask you to leave, now," he asked, as gently as he could, given his emotional state. He didn't want to yell at Will... "You only care about helping your new boyfriend, not me, and he only cares about making me weak again."**

“I care about helping you both,” he said softly, rising to his knees and watching Bill. “And if that means you have to scream at me then do it. If that means I say things that make you upset and you have to take that anger out on me then do it. I want you both to be happy and safe and okay.”

**"And wouldn't that ruin your little fairytale, William?" In the back of his mind, there was a voice that kept screaming 'Mason is mine' and he had been ignoring it so far, but it kept getting louder and louder. "You know me. I. Don't. Share."**

Will nodded, smiling sadly. “I know,” he said softly, lowering his gaze. “I know you don’t. But I’m used to not getting what I want. To have the good things taken away from me. And I’ll have however long before you’re memories come back- if it happens today, I’ll have 17 blissful days to look back on.”

**Bill shook his head and turned completely red. "Leave, William." Lord, the voice kept getting louder and louder and Bill just knew he was going to have an episode and he didn't want to in front of Will, because he knew he would go running to tell Dipper and it would give the human hope... But also because he was afraid he would end up hurting Will because of those stupid feelings. Why couldn't they see they only brought problems?!**

He shook his head, settling back in the blankets in a clear sign of defiance. “If you’re going to be angry might as well be angry with me,” he said quietly, folding his arms over his chest and head lowered. “It might make you feel better.”

**Bill had no time to answer as the memories came rushing back in that second. This time it was different though, he couldn’t remember everything he had done, he remembered a lot, something that hadn't happened before and if he hadn't been so overwhelmed by rage then maybe he would have noticed that and would have been happy. "You."**

Will blinked up at Bill, shifting a little like he was considering coming closer. Deciding better if it, he stayed where he was. “Bill?”

**Will, the only being in the universe that he had come to think of as family, Will Cipher, the only being that Bill felt he could trust the way he trusted himself, Will had taken Mason from him, had taken advantage of his state to betray him like that?! "You back-stabbing liar piece of shit!" He growled as he floated towards the other demon and wrapped his hands around his neck, since, well, it was the only thing he could do, bound powers and all.**

Will froze up for only a few moments before panicking, every self-preservation instinct kicking in as he kicked at Bill, scrabbling at the hands around his neck, trying to get air. He didn’t want to hurt Bill, but the human body he was trapped in demanded air and he was freaking out, landing several hard kicks against the demon to try and get him off, dropping his hands to beat on his arms.

**Bill didn't move away, completely blinded by rage, even ignoring the chains that got tighter and tighter around his body. He only stopped once the pain became too difficult to ignore and he fell to the ground, panting, his body still red.**

Will dropped to the ground, curling into a tight, trembling ball as he gasped for breath around harsh coughs and ragged sobs, half babbled apologies.

**"Get away from me," Bill mumbled and his eye turned into a mouth for a moment as he coughed black blood. He had exhausted himself by fighting against the bond that was meant to keep others safe from him. "Leave. Now."**

Will didn't react besides flinching at the sound of a voice, muffled against the ringing in his ears as he pressed his back into the wall behind him. He was too trapped, too locked in flashbacks of abuse and other times when hands had wrapped around his throat until squeezed until he blacked out. 

"What happened?!" Dipper's aghast, worried voice cut through the room from his place at the bottom of the stairs, stuck watching the pair. The pull of the bond in the back of his mind was what brought him here in the first place, that and how long Will was taking, but he didn't think he'd ever see this. "Bill? Will?" Quickly, he crossed the room to open the cell and check on the demons.

**"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Bill shouted and tried to move away from Dipper's touch, almost as if it burned. He had given Dipper his trust as well... Maybe not all of it like with Will, because he had been afraid he would end up getting played and for fuck's sake he had been right.**

"Wh- Bill? What happened?" He asked, needing to understand to help. Ignoring his order, as he had been for a while, he moved closer. He knew he wasn't going to get through to Will until the blue-clad demon settled down more, so Dipper had to start here. "What did you do? Just because Will wanted to talk to you doesn't mean this had to happen! Just ignore, like you always do! I'm the one you hate, anyway, take the anger out on me," he rambled a little, trying to fit the information together and make sense of it, and draw Bill into a conversation.

**“HE TOOK YOU FROM ME!” The demon pushed Dipper away and hissed in pain as the chains got tighter to the point that they cut through his skin. He couldn’t calm down, he had never felt so betrayed in his life and that was saying a lot considering the circles he moved in and how long he had lived.**

Dipper fell back, pausing for just a moment- Bill remembered? This was.. was his demon, oh god he didn't think that would ever happen. He didn't know how much time he had thought, so he had to act quickly. "Bill... Bill, easy, it's okay," he said gently, swallowing thickly as he moved closer to the demon, catching his hands to keep him still. "Slow, you're okay, everything is going to be okay. We can talk once you calm down, yeah..? Shhh..."

**The demon got away from the human and glared at him. “Leave me alone. Now.” He couldn’t calm down at the moment, he wouldn’t calm down and seeing Dipper there, so close, and Will as well. He didn’t want to hurt Dipper, he truly didn’t, but right now he couldn’t control his anger and the darkest side of him wanted to destroy them both.**

Dipper held his hands up. "I can't yet, even if I wanted to," he said gently. "Because I assume you want me to take Will with, but until he calms down I can't touch him without making things worse. So.." he paused, glancing at the other demon. "I could go over there, by him, and not say anything, but I'm not going anywhere. Besides." He smiled just a little. "If you think I'd leave you when you're like this, you clearly don't know me very well anymore."

**“No, I clearly never did,” Bill said and turned around. “Go with him, you fucking deserve each other.” Two traitors, the perfect couple. If he could use his power the whole shack would be up in flames right now. Maybe this had actually been Dipper’s plan all along, get him bound so that he could use his power and then replace him...**

Dipper rolled his eyes. Jesus, explaining this was going to be one hell of a disaster- how was he supposed to tell Bill that them being together was partly his fault, that he had pushed them together to keep Dipper away from the yellow demon instead. Slowly, he stood and walked over to Will's side, kneeling next to him.

**Will was still trapped in his memories, but he felt the other’s presence and it made him feel safer and open his eyes. “D-dipper?” He reached for the human.**

Dipper smiled a little, reaching out take Will's hand. "Shh... You're okay, Will," he murmured. "Just breathe, okay, everything is going to be just fine." He hoped. Really, any number of things could go wrong in the next little while, but he was hoping that Bill would understand.

**Will closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, then he moved closer to the human and hugged him, pulling him as close as possible. It took him a while but he finally calmed down enough to stand up. "I-I need to leave."**

Dipper wrapped his arms around Will, holding him close and rubbing his back slowly. He had no problem sitting here, giving the demon whatever comfort he needed or wanted to get through the disaster that had happened. Standing with him, he kept an arm around Will. "Alright. Okay, we're leaving," he assured, keeping the demon against his side as he guided him past Bill and out of the cell.

**Bill turned around to watch them go and then looked away because it hurt and it made him so angry at the same time, he just couldn't deal with the emotions right now and he missed the days when he could simply ignore them and move on, maybe burn a dimension or two.**

Dipper glanced back at Bill, something in him catching and threatening to break. This isn't what he wanted, not even a little bit. If only this had happened a few weeks ago, this wouldn't even be a problem. He knew he was lying to himself, knew that he had feelings for Will for a while and it would have led to the same problem... But still.

**Once they were out of the lab, Will felt like he could breathe again. "I-I'm sorry, I just- I couldn't- I couldn't be there, he-he-"**

He walked Will up the stairs, shutting the door behind them. "Shhh, Will," he murmured, taking him to the couch to sit down. "It's okay, you're safe now." Already, the bruises were forming around his throat, telling Dipper all he needed to know.

**"He-he never tried t-to hurt me, he never- n-not o-on purpose." This was different to the time he had hurt him with his words a month ago, that time Bill had been angry and completely out of control of what he was saying, he could see it in his eye, but this time? There was clear intent in the demon's look, for the first time he was terrified of what the other demon could do to him.**

"I know, Will," he said soothingly, gently taking his hands and squeezing tightly. "But it isn't going to happen again, okay? I promise." This was insane, clearly, this couldn't happen again, he couldn't risk this going on. "I'll talk to him, alright? You're safe here."

**The blue-haired demon nodded and took another deep breath. He knew he was safe with Dipper, Bill was bound, he couldn't hurt him if Dipper told him not to. As much as he hated what the bond and orders entailed, as much as it would remind him of how Mason used to treat him, this time around he knew it was necessary.**

Dipper kissed the top of his head gently, letting go of one of his hands to cup his cheek. "There... better?" He asked with a soft smile, brushing the tears from his cheek with his thumb.

**Will smiled a little and nodded again. "Yes, I feel a bit better." His neck hurt though and he knew the bruises would take some time to go away, with him not really having access to his powers and all that. "He's back, I- I think he remembers."**

"Good." He smiled a little wider, a little brighter. Dipper nodded. "From what little he said it me, it sounds like he remembers. He remembers enough to think that you stole me away, anyway." Which was... kinda true, he supposed. "I'm going to get you some meds for the bruises and a glass of water, okay? Then you should probably rest, does that sound alright?"

**The demon sighed and looked away. "Yes, I'll rest," he said, his shoulders dropping a little. He had stolen Dipper from Bill, he truly had... He simply didn't think Bill would ever get better! They wouldn't have done this otherwise and, yes, he would have fallen in love with Dipper anyway, but they wouldn't have hurt Bill, nor made him angry enough for him to want to destroy the dimension again.**

"Hey... this isn't your fault," he pointed out. "If we're blaming anyone, it'll be me. For thinking I could get away with having you both." Standing, he ruffled his hair gently before moving to get the pills and some water. Coming back, he passed them over, kneeling in front of Will and resting his hands on his knees.

**The demon took the pills and drank four of them, downing the glass of water. He kept silent for a few minutes, afraid to ask the question... but eventually he had to. “What... what are we going to do?” He didn’t want to cause Dipper trouble and he knew it would hurt like hell, but he would leave the Pines if he had to...**

Dipper bowed his head, staying where he was as he thought. “I.. I don’t know, Will,” he said softly, sighing. “I won’t know until... I need a little time to figure it out. And I need to talk to Bill. But... whatever happens..” he looked up, his smile sad, tears in his eyes. “I don’t regret anything, understand? Not you, not my choices, not that passed two weeks.”

**Will nodded and gulped. He knew that it was fine, that Dipper said that he wouldn’t regret it, but if he didn’t choose him... No, he didn’t have to think about that, Dipper loved them both, but Bill had come first and they both knew he would find a way to kill everyone if Dipper didn’t choose him.**

Dipper watched him carefully, rubbing his thumb over the inside of his knee. He didn't want to choose, and he shouldn't have to. Poly relationships were perfectly fine and a perfect solution- if Bill wasn't so possessive. Before, he had liked that, and part of him still did. But now... now it was causing problems. "I'll go talk to him, okay?" Slowly, he stood, not wanting to leave.

**Will grabbed Dipper’s arm and stopped him from getting away. “D-do you think it’s a good idea?” Maybe they needed to let the demon cool down a little bit first, Bill was way too angry and Will wouldn’t think it would be past him to try and hurt Dipper, which would make Dipper hurt him to protect himself, through the bond, and Dipper would feel awful about it, Will knew it.**

"I think... I think that I don't want to risk him losing the memories again," he said quietly, looking down. "And that I'd rather him be angry then not have this talk. I'll stay out of the cell, Will... And I can handle anything he might say to me."

**Will reluctantly let him go and nodded. “I-I know you can.” He was still worried though, Bill was really powerful and he had experience using his power, unlike him. Will was worried about Bill pushing the bond enough to break it.**

Dipper smiled softly. "I'll be back soon." With that, he took a deep breath and headed for the stairs. Walking down slowly, he peeked around to the cell before squaring his shoulders and entering the lab, silent.

**Bill was assessing the damage all over his body. He could feel his power now, it was right there, but Dipper was keeping it from him, which meant he couldn’t regenerate and he couldn’t escape and he couldn’t make the two traitors pay. He was hurt and if he had been someone else he would be crying, but Bill never cried, he took action, he got rid of those that hurt him.**

Dipper stopped a couple feet from the cell, looking him over carefully. Clearly, things weren't well, fighting against the bond to hurt Will had clearly wreaked havoc on his body. ".. Do you want bandages," he said finally, breaking the silence.

**Bill looked up at Dippet, glaring daggers at him. “I want nothing from you.” He wouldn’t open up again, not to Dipper, not to anyone, he couldn’t believe he had let himself be so dumb.**

"Not even an explanation?" He asked, moving closer. "Or... here, let me do this, at least.." Carefully, he tugged at the bond, letting small amounts of magic to leak across to Bill again. "To heal."

**Bill used the magic to heal, but the way he looked at Dipper didn’t change. The worst part for him was, he still loved the stupid human, he couldn’t help it, “How about you let me have all of it?”**

"I would if I didn't think you'd immediately use it to kill me and everyone in this town. Just to start," he said quietly, moving closer to the cell. "How much do you remember? Do you... is there anything between the last time we talked and now..?"

**“Most of it.” Yes, he did remember encouraging Will to distract Dipper and go for a relationship with him, maybe Will could be excused about his behavior... but Dipper? No, he was supposed to gently let the other demon down, because he was in love with someone else.. but he didn’t, because he wasn’t. “I don’t need explanations, you should have said no.”**

"... Do you think that, because I said yes to Will, I don't love you," he said finally, after several long moments? "I am perfectly capable of loving more than one person at a time, Bill Cipher, and I still love you," he said, curling his hands into fists. "I never stopped. Not once, not the entire time you treated me like dirt and used my worst fears against me to get what you wanted, not when you twisted my dreams into a nightmare about you raping me and not when you attacked me, trying to kill me. NOT ONCE!!" Angrily, he scrubbed at his eyes.

**Bill was ready to continue arguing with Dipper until he mentioned the nightmare. “I did what?” He asked in disbelief. Has he really gone that far? He knew he had tried to kill Dipper, but he had always been able to defend himself, now a nightmare was different, even if t was Dipper’s mindscape and he was in control, realizing a dream was a dream didn’t always happen fast and he could have seriously hurt Dipper in the worst possible way. No wonder the human had replaced him. “I- I...” The demon finally turned back to his original yellow color, looking down at his hands. Had he done it himself? In dreams, it was still his body, still those hands. “I...” He didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t just say he was sorry.**

"Yeah, exactly." He took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I slammed my head into a wall and clawed my arms open to get that thought out of my head," he managed, dragging his hands through his hair and pulling. "And even.. after all of that, I never gave up, I never stopped thinking that you were still in there somewhere. I didn't say yes to Will because I was over you, or to replace you. I said yes because I love you, and I love him, and it's for different reasons, but I didn't think I was ever getting you back and I understand that you're angry but please don't punish me for two weeks of happiness."

**Bill glanced at Dipper and then back at his hands once again. He couldn’t ask anything of the other, couldn’t be angry at him for what he had done after learning the way he had treated him, but... “I can’t...” He shook his head and closed his eye. “I can’t share you, you’re mine, Mason,” the demon said and rubbed his eye. He didn’t deserve Dipper, never had. “I just can’t.” But he was like this and Dipper knew it and if he truly wanted him then he would need to deal with it.**

Dipper nodded, rubbing his hands over his face. "... Yeah... Yeah, I know," he said dully, sinking to the floor to sit in front of the cell. "Trust me, I remember that you don't share. You barely shared me with my family." He didn't want to have to choose, though, he didn't want to pick between the demons.

**Bill gulped and looked away. He hated this, hated seeing that this seemed to be a hard decision for the other. He kept thinking it shouldn’t be, he had started dating him first and had been dating him longer and lord, what did Will had that he didn’t?! He was nicer, so what?!**

**Bill took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He couldn’t get angry, he didn’t have the right to be angry, he had hurt Dipper. A lot. “I could leave.” He said reluctantly, silently hoping the other wouldn’t let him, that he would realize he was being unfair...**

He hated this. That he was going to pick and that part f him had already chosen Bill. That he was going to hurt Will again, even worse than the previous times. Dammit, he saved the world and the people of Gravity Falls and animals in the forest more times then he could count, didn’t the universe owe him something at this point?! 

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he snapped instantly, looking back up at the demon, tears still glistening in his eyes. “Don’t even say that, not after everything I’ve been through to get you back.”

**Internally, Bill smiled widely. Dipper had to love him for real if he didn’t want him to leave, he seemed willing to choose him. I mean, he wanted him to stay and he knew he wouldn’t share him, so... unless... “I can’t stay if you’re going to be with him, I don’t think I’d be able to stand it and I don’t want to hurt you...” Or Will, he couldn’t, they had valid reasons to have done what they did.**

Dipper bowed his head, sighed softly, wiped his eyes. “Alright,” he finally agreed, standing slowly and moving to open the door. “Alright, Bill. I... I’ll break things off with Will..” And that was going to hurt, so much, both him and the blue demon. The thought already hurt, like a punch to the stomach, but if this was the best option... his only option, actually. No matter what he did he was going to end up heartbroken, and he was going to take someone with him, drag them down as well. 

Dipper stopped, hesitated by the door, hand on the handle. It was a few moments before he was able to push it open. His smile was weak, shaky, clearly still upset and uneasy about where things stood, nervous about being near Bill again.

**Bill noticed the other's hesitation and assumed it was because of what he had done, not something else, because, if he had chosen him then it had to mean the thing with Will hadn't been all that serious, right? He had given him the option to stay with him after all, he only had to allow Bill to leave. The yellow demon sighed and looked down at his feet, ashamed about his behavior earlier, he hoped Will was alright... "I won't hurt you," he tried to reassure Dipper. "May I have a bit more of my power? Just so that I can change forms." Of course, he wanted all of it, but he was in no position to demand anything so he would wait for Dipper to feel like giving it to him.**

If he had chosen Will, then Bill would have left, and he never would have seen him again. At least... at least this way, he could still see Will, could still help and protect and be there for him.. if the blue demon let him, that is. But damn, it was going to hurt. Seeing him and not being able to touch him, take his hand, kiss him... it was going to slowly destroy the part of him that was in love with Will. But he could do it, he didn't have to show the agony the decision was putting him through. "... Yeah, sure," he murmured, releasing more of his power. Maybe a little more than necessary, but he didn't care that much.

**Bill smiled in bliss when he felt his power back. It wasn't all of it, but it was more than he needed for this, so he assumed Dipper was trusting him more already. The demon changed to his human form, except this time he had two eyes once again, both yellow with slit pupils. He had the power to do it, so why wouldn't he just enjoy the perks of a human form and have two? Once he was done he smiled at Dipper. "How do I look?" He was using a suit, of course, similar to the one he had bought in town, except the quality was way higher and it fit him perfectly. The demon made his cane appear and leaned against it, waiting for the other's answer.**

Dipper's attention had slipped for a moment, he was staring at the blankets in the corner of the cell from the last time they'd been like this, roughed up from when Will had hidden there during his panic attack. Snapping his eyes back to Bill, he smiled softly, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "You... you look really good," he murmured, swallowing thickly.

**Bill rolled his eyes fondly and took a step closer to the human. He wanted to pull him into his arms and kiss him and never let go of him again, but he had to be careful, let the other set the pace. "You should try telling me something I don't know," he said and laughed.**

Dipper smiled again, shaky, tears gathering in his eyes again. "I... I r-really missed you," he choked out, in the next moment he was throwing himself at the demon, wrapping his arms around him and curling his hands in the back of his suit. His shoulders were shaking with the force of his silent sobs, face hidden against his neck.

**Bill hugged Dipper back and closed his eyes, his smile going away as he buried his face in the other's curly hair. "I'm sorry I was... gone." Or at least sort of gone, he could remember most of it but he still didn't feel like he had lived it. "And I'm so sorry I hurt you, sapling."**

Dipper nodded a little, acknowledging that he heard but currently unable to speak. He just... cried, and clung. Cried until there was nothing left, every awful feeling from the moment he had lost the demon until just a few minutes ago. His breath was riddled with hiccups when he finally started to calm down, but he didn't let go even then. Afraid, that if he did, he'd lose everything again.

**Bill let Dipper hold on to him, never once making a move to push him away. This was what he had missed the most, knowing he had the other's trust, that Dipper knew he wouldn't hurt him because he simply couldn't do it anymore, because it would feel like hurting himself. Even earlier when he had felt betrayed and angry like he hadn't felt in ages, he didn't think he would have been able to hurt Dipper Pines.**

Dipper pulled away slowly, pulling his sleeve over his hand to rub the tears off his cheeks and smiling a little. Slowly, he reached up, running his fingers through Bill's hair, brushing them against his cheek. "Is this... permanent?" He asked quietly. "Or am I going to wake up tomorrow, with you not remembering anything..?" Again.

**"I don't know..." Bill confessed and sighed. "But this time is different, you didn't have to block my powers to get me back and I still remember most things about my time-" Bill looked around the cell, at all the symbols and drawings he had put on the walls. Most have no meaning, but some, the ones he had done during his episodes, had been attempts to let Dipper know he was still there. Obviously, Dipper hadn't noticed. "My time in here," he finished and looked back at Dipper. "And I've been having brief moments in which I remembered for a while now, I can tell this is different."**

Dipper nodded a little. That would have to be good enough, in the end. They wouldn't really know, ever, actually. But that led directly to his next hard question, his hands falling away to take Bill's instead, examining the chains that kept them bound together. "If... if that's the case," he started slowly, clearing his throat. "Is it alright if we wait a couple days before I break this? I won't order you to do anything and I won't keep your powers from you, I just want to be careful," he added quickly, ducking his head.

**Bill sighed and reluctantly nodded. "I knew you'd ask that, it's fine." He didn't like it, of course, he didn't like it, but he also wanted to be cautious, so it was okay. "Do you know how to break it though?" He certainly didn't, he didn't think the water would work once the spell was active, that would be too easy and if that was the case then Will would have freed himself from the bond a long long time ago.**

"... No. I don't. Ford might, and if not, I have a couple ideas I can try," he hummed thoughtfully. "There's always just... breaking the ring and seeing if that does anything. Or telling you that you're free since it seems to be pretty based on my wants and ideas." He shrugged weakly, rubbing at his eyes. "I just have to see."

**Bill nodded and caressed the human's cheek gently. "We'll figure it out, I'm sure." They had somehow figured out how to bring him back, they would certainly find a way to break the bond and maybe they would be able to help Will with his own afterward. "Now I don't want to think about that though, let's get out of this lab, please." He needed fresh air.**

Dipper leaned into the touch, nodding. "We will, we always do." Stepping away, he took Bill's hand and pulled him out of the cell. "Bill... don't say anything to Will, okay? He should be in his room, resting, but I... I want to... talk to him," he asked softly, hesitating at the stairs before heading up.

**Bill got tense for a brief second but he reminded himself to breathe in and out slowly to try and not lose his temper. Dipper was just going to talk to Will, explain the situation and try not to hurt him. That was fine, he didn't want Will to be miserable either. "I'll try my best to keep my mouth shut. Where is he sleeping anyway? I didn't know there was another room in the shack," this place was even bigger than he thought.**

Dipper nodded, squeezing his hand gently. “We put him in, um, mine and your room,” he said carefully. “Because I couldn’t sleep there anymore, not alone. So I moved back to that attic. But there are a couple options now that you’re back; we could stay in the attic, or he could switch with me, or there’s a room in the basement that had weird carpet that causes you to switch minds with someone if we renovate that someone could use it. I haven’t because... magic, and I spent enough time in Mabel’s body already.”

**Again, Bill had to take a moment to force himself to remain calm. It was understandable that Will had been given his room, he didn't have a reason to be angry. "Well, I'd like my room back... And maybe I can take care of the carpet so that Will can use that other room." He supposed the other would want the privacy he had gotten used to over the time he had slept in Bill's and Dipper's room.**

“Or we could take the other room,” he suggested carefully. “It’s more private, and bigger, and all of our things are in my room in the attic right now anyway. If you don’t want to that’s fine,” he added quickly. “It was just a thought.”

**Bill bit his lip, thinking for a moment about their possibilities. He wanted his room back, but then again, it wasn't his room anymore and while Dipper had good memories of them together there, he also had memories of him and Will there and the yellow demon wanted to get the other out of the human's mind so... "Maybe you're right, the other room might be better for the two of us." Bill wrapped an arm around Dipper's waist, pulling him closer. "A new chapter," he whispered in Dipper's ear and then kissed behind it.**

He smiled a little, nodding as he leaned into Bill’s side. “That’ll be good,” he said quietly. He didn’t want to be in that room if he wasn’t allowed to be with Will, there was too much good with the blue demon. And he didn’t want to kick Will out, that space was his and had been his for longer than a month.

**"Great, now if you could give me the rest of my power I could move all of our things with a snap of my finger to the new room and then I'll see what I can do about the carpet." The yellow demon was dying to feel his magic run through his body again like it used to, he had been waiting for so long...**

Dipper laughed a little, pushing the dark thoughts and unhappy feelings away for now. He could worry about it later, like in his dreams at night. "Right, right, I get it," he teased, opening the bound and letting Bill's magic go.

**"Oh..." Bill grinned as a rush of power run through his body, his eyes glowing blue for a brief second. "This is what I'm talking about!" The demon didn't hesitate to pull Dipper into a kiss. He kept it gentle, mindful of what had happened while he was 'gone', but he had been overwhelmed by gratitude and he couldn't think of another way to thank the human.**

Dipper smiled a little brighter, watching him, loving the smile and the way Bill just lit up. Blushing a little, he was still quick to return the kiss, arms wrapping around Bill's neck and keeping him close. Slowly pulling away, he leaned up to kiss his forehead. "I'm glad you're happy."

**When he broke the kiss the demon was grinning. He snapped his fingers and then ran a hand through his hair. “There, all of our stuff is in the new room. I think. They also could have ended up in the void between dimensions.” He shrugged a little.**

Dipper paused before laughing, shaking his head. "I sure hope not, I don't want to buy all new things," he teased, reaching up to run his fingers through Bill's hair, smoothing it back into place.

**“Don’t worry, the chances of me making a mistake that big are pretty slim,” Bill reassured the human and kissed him again before turning to face the room they were in, still Ford’s, but at least the old man was nowhere to be seen. “Should we go now or...” Or you want to talk to Will first, he thought.**

"I hope so, I like a lot of the things in there," he teased, kissing him back before stepping away, taking his hand again. Hesitating, he nodded. "Wanna take a walk? It might be one of the last days before it snows."

**“Sure, I could use some fresh air,” he said though he would have liked to settle down in their new room first, maybe cuddle a little bit, try and fix the damage he had done... but he would do whatever Dipper wanted.**

Dipper smiled a little, letting go to pull his coat and boots on before taking Bill’s hand again and heading out the door. He needed the space from the Shack, time and a chance to figure out what he was going to say to Will.

**Bill didn't need winter clothes so he simply waited for Dipper to be done and then he opened a rift in the middle of the living room as if it was nothing. "Let's go, I want to show you something," he said, smiling widely. Sure, maybe their situation wasn't ideal but he was so damn happy to have Dipper back.**

Dipper blinked, chuckling a little as he came over. “Alright, alright,” he agreed, taking Bill’s hand before stepping through the rift.

**Bill guided Dipper inside since he knew how overwhelming it could be for humans and he didn't want him to get lost -though he wondered if now it would be easier for Dipper since he had access to his powers-. Once they reached the other side, Bill closed the rift and made a blindfold appear around Dipper's eyes before the other could look around.**

Dipper laughed, tightening his hold on Bill’s hand. “A little warning next time would be nice,” he teased, moving a little closer.

**"Right, sorry," the demon said and kissed Dipper's cheek. He loved being a little more dramatic than necessary, he couldn't help it. "You trust me, right?" He asked as he made a table and chairs appear floating in the air, right past the cliff they were currently standing on. He needed to start apologizing for everything he had done and what better way to begin with than a date? Dinner in the air, looking down at the Gravity Falls' valley, just like he had promised.**

“It’s okay,” he assured, blushing faintly and sliding his hand in his pocket as he waited. “Yeah.. yeah, of course, Bill. Always.” He smiled a little, shifting slightly to keep steady as he waited

**Once the demon had everything ready, he lifted Dipper bridal style and floated to where the table was, gently dropping the human on the chair before he sat down in front of him. "You can take off the blindfold now."**

Dipper tangled a hand in Bill’s shirt to stay steady, humming softly before settling down. Slowly, he lifted his blindfold. “Oh,” he breathed, looking around.

**"I won't let you fall so you're safe," Bill reassured the human, grinning widely. "Do you like it?" He had wanted their first date after the incident to be special and there was no one else in the world that could give Dipper something like this.**

“I... Yeah... I really like it,” he breathed, looking around and turning in his chair to see behind him. “This is amazing, Bill!”

**"Only the best for my favorite human," Bill said and made their food appear on the plates. "Your favorite, of course. I know I..." The demon sighed and looked away, towards the horizon. "I know I have a lot to atone for, I... think of this as the beginning?"**

Dipper paused, reaching out to touch the bag of Bill’s hand. “Hey... it’s okay,” he said softly, smiling a little. “You... I know things were different, and that.. you wouldn’t have done that. I just need a little time to get back in the swing of things. It’ll be okay.”

**Bill looked back at Dipper and smiled a little. "I'll make it okay, I promise." He knew it would probably take time, he had no idea exactly how much damage he had done, but he would fix it, he had to, he wanted to deserve the other's love. "You're mine to keep safe, from everything, even from me, I shouldn't have fought you about the spell when I did the ritual, that was my first mistake."**

Dipper smiled back. “I know you will,” he assured, sitting back so he could look over everything the other had done again. He didn’t need to, not really, the human understood why it had happened. “It’s okay, Bill. I got it on in the end, everything worked out. I was only thrown into one tree.”

**The demon sighed and nodded. "You used my power to heal yourself, right?" He asked and then took a bite of the food. He remembered bits and pieces of that fight... He supposed his subconscious was trying to save him from dealing with the bad things he had done so it had repressed them a little. In a way he was thankful, but at the same time, he hated being in the dark.**

“I wasn’t that hurt. And I didn’t know that I could do that yet. So... no, I hadn’t. It took me a few days to figure out what I could and couldn’t do with the bond,” he explained, taking a bite with a small hum. “This is really good, by the way. Thank you.”

**"I stole it from the best restaurant I could find-" Bill made a triangle with his hands and put it around his left eye, then went back to eating. "Of course, I don't have that many eyes outside of Gravity Falls so I couldn't get the best place in your world, I'm glad it's good." He took another bite. "And about my power... maybe I could teach you a thing or two?" He suggested after swallowing.**

He nodded a little, smiling faintly. “Maybe we should work in that, too. Getting it so you can leave Gravity Falls if you want,” he commented, continuing to eat. Glancing up, he grinned. “I’d like that.”

**"I'll give you a lesson or two then," Bill agreed, then he made a glass of wine appear in his hand and he took a sip. "But, when it comes to the other thing... I really don't think Ford will give us the equation after what happened."**

“That would be great,” Dipper nodded eagerly, taking another bite as he listened. Humming thoughtfully, he leaned across the table and easily plucked the glass from Bill’s hand, taking a sip himself. “He won’t right now,” he agreed, grinning. “But I’m not going to ask now.”

**Bill glared a little at Dipper when he took his glass -thought he really didn't mind- and then made another one appear, as well as a bottle. "You could have asked," Bill pointed out. It wasn't like he would have said no. "Not asking is my style."**

Dipper swirled the cup slightly. “Clearly, I’m picking up your bad habits,” he hummed, smiling slyly before settling back in his seat and setting the cup down.

**"I can't say I mind all that much..." the demon said and grinned, then returned to his food. "So... our plan so far is to teach you how to use my magic properly and without risk, then we ask Ford for the equation to let me out and then what? I'd love to take you to see the world, maybe even other universes..."**

“Then we can do whatever we want?” He hummed, shrugging a little. “Seeing other dimensions and universes sounds wonderful.”

**"Yes! We can do whatever we want, nothing nor no one will be able to stop us." Oh, how a part of him wished Dipper would be interested in world domination like he was... But he knew there was no use in suggesting it, even if it involved other dimensions and not his boyfriend's. "Just you and me and millions of places to explore."**

Dipper smirked slowly, almost evilly, slowly running his finger along the rim of the cup and listening to the soft noise it made. “I could think of a dimension that needs a visit,” he said darkly.

**Bill smirked, almost as if he was able to read Dipper's thoughts -which, okay, he was, but he respected the other's privacy and wasn't doing it at the moment-. "I wouldn't mind visiting that one either," Will had said he didn't need to solve his problems anymore, but he knew he would enjoy solving this one...**

Dipper laughed darkly, nodding a little. “Yeah, I thought you’d like to, as well.” Will didn’t need either of them to solve his problems, but what better way to break the bond then to kill the entire Gleeful family? That would free him for sure. “Where else would we go?” He asked

**"Oh, there are so many places... there's a dimension that's a lot like this one except their laws of physics are opposite to ours. There's one where everything and everyone looks like an M and one were real life happens in dreams,"  Bill told the other, smiling as he thought of all the places he could show Dipper, all the time they could spend together with no one else bothering them.**

Dipper sighed a little, smiling softly. ”That sounds... really great, Bill... I can’t wait to see it all,” he said quietly, forcing himself to ignore the tiny voice in the back of his head that was trying to ruin this moment.

**"I can't wait to show it to you, you look adorable when you're impressed," Bill chuckled a little and leaned over the table to kiss Dipper gently on the lips. He would make sure the human would always have something that would give him a sense of wonder, they would be happy forever and ever.**

He leaned closer to kiss him back, resting a hand on the table to make it easier. Slowly pulling back, he smiled again, looking down at the table as he reclaimed his seat

**"We'll have time to discuss our traveling plans in more detail later though, now eat," Bill was enjoying the meal and the night out of the shack and being back alone with Dipper but he couldn't wait to get to their new room, make the place theirs, maybe christen their new bed... No, no, that would most likely have to wait.**

“Alright, alright,” he laughed a little, turning his attention back to the meal and working his way through the food and his glass of wine. This was nice, really nice, the night out did wonders for his mood. By the time the meal was over, Dipper was much calmer, though he still had no idea what he was going to say to Will. That would have to happen soon.

**Once they were done, Bill made the chairs and table disappear -making sure Dipper would still float in the air, of course- and he snapped his finger to get some music playing. "Would you like to dance?" He asked the human, offering him his hand.**

Dipper jumped slightly, gasping as he was left floating. Glancing at Bill, he smiled a little, reaching out to take his hand. “I’m not very good at it,” he warned.

**"Don't worry, my sapling, I can lead," the demon reassured him and put a hand on Dipper's lower back and with the other one, he grabbed the human's hand. "I want to dance at least once with you."**

Dipper took his hand, resting the other on his shoulder. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty more chances to dance after this,” he murmured, smiling sweetly.

**Bill rolled his eyes. "Yes, but what I meant is that if next time you don't want to I'm not going to force you or beg you to dance with me," the demon explained and started to dance, guiding Dipper's movements.**

Dipper followed along, learning the steps fairly quickly. After a few moments, he settled his head on Bill’s shoulder. “Don’t think that’s gonna be a problem,” he murmured.

**"Good, I like dancing and it's a hundred times better with you," the demon murmured in Dipper's ear and then kissed his earlobe. This was perfect, the demon had been able to forget about the problem that had come up earlier, everything was back to normal now, Dipper was his and they were fine and he... lord, he loved this human, he loved him... Maybe someday he would be able to say the words out loud.**

“Yeah, I like this a lot more than any other time I’ve done it,” he hummed, smiling a little before turning his head to nuzzle into his neck. This moment was perfect, a single moment of perfection that he desperately wanted, craved. And he loved Bill, knew that Bill loved him even if the demon couldn’t bring himself to say it yet. He could pretend that everything in his life was going fine, was alright and good again. “I love you,” he whispered against his neck.

**Bill grinned and huffed a laugh. "I know," he said, though he truly didn't, he found it so hard to believe, considering who he was and the things that he had done... every time Dipper said it felt like a blessing. As the music came to an end, Bill pulled away a little and then pulled Dipper in for a soft kiss, again, keeping it gentle, which was unlike him, but he felt that it was what the other needed at the moment.**

"I'm still going to tell you," he teased lightly, pressing a soft kiss to his neck and happily settling a little closer as the music started to wind down. Looking up as Bill pulled back, he leaned in to kiss him back, slowly sliding his hand up to tangle in his hair and keep him there.

**Bill kept up the kiss for a long moment until he could tell the other needed to breathe and only then he pulled away. "Well, it was a nice date, right? I know you wanted to go for a walk, but..." This had seemed like a better idea. "We can still go back by walking through if you want."**

Dipper smiled, gently brushing his fingers against Bill's cheek and just looking at him for a few minutes. "It was a perfect date," he assured. "Better than a walk, by far. We could, how far away are we?"

**"We're pretty far away but I could open a rift to get us halfway there and then we could walk," the demon offered and lowered them both to the ground before opening said rift.**

Dipper smiled a little, he stepped through the rift. Stepping out into familiar woods once again, he turned to wait for the demon.

**Bill saw Dipper step through before he could grab his hand and immediately panicked, running into the rift himself and hoping the other hadn't gotten lost in the void. Once he stepped on the other side and saw that the human was okay he let out a sigh of relief. "Don't do that again!" He told him, grabbing him by the shoulders and taking a good look at him, wanting to make sure he was okay. "You were lucky not to get lost!"**

Dipper jumped slightly, eyes wide as he looked back at Bill. Slowly, he reached up, wrapping his hands around Bill's wrists and squeezing gently. "I'm okay," he whispered. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again," he added, trying to calm the panicked demon.

**Bill didn't relax until he was absolutely sure that Dipper was okay. "Humans aren't built for jumping alone into the void, haven't I told you that before?" Bill rubbed his eyes and then let go of Dipper. "You shouldn't have been able to find your way out and that fast..."**

Dipper held perfectly still, waiting until Bill was calm and no longer worried to say anything again. "It might be because I'm tapped into your powers?" He suggested, moving forward slowly, taking Bill's hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think. It won't happen anymore, I promise."

**Bill shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "No, no, it's okay, that makes sense." He hadn't felt it though, if Dipper had used his powers he hadn't been able to tell... What could that mean? "It's impressive, really, but I was just... worried. Sorry about freaking out."**

"No, it's okay, you had every right to freak out," he murmured, resting his chin on Bill's shoulder and falling silent.

**The demon smiled and kissed Dipper' cheek, then he wrapped an arm around his waist and started leading the way back to the shack. Heading back made his mind go back to their current situation as well... He knew Dipper still had to talk to Will... He hoped he would wait till tomorrow.**

Dipper smiled, leaning into his side as they got closer to the Shack. Oh... he really didn't want to do this, he hoped that Will would still be asleep so that he could put off the talk a little bit longer.

* * *

**They arrived at the shack to find that all the lights were out, so it was likely that everyone would be asleep, which was perfect, Bill didn't think Dipper would wake up Will to talk to him. "Straight to our new room, sapling?"**

Dipper nodded a little, opening the door. “Yeah... but uh, what about the carpet?” He asked softly.

**"I can deal with it in the morning, we don't even have to touch the floor," Bill reminded Dipper and lifted him from the ground before he entered their room, floating a foot above the ground. "I really missed having full access to my powers," he said as he gently dropped Dipper on their bed, chuckling a little.**

Dipper laughed, bouncing slightly as he hit the bed and settling down happily. “Things are certainly easier this way,” he agreed, shedding his boots and coat.

**Bill climbed on top of Dipper and took off his jacket and vest. "They are," he said and kissed the human on the lips, hands sneaking under his shirt and pulling it up. "But... I was wondering..." The demon kissed down Dipper's neck until he reached his throat and took a deep breath. "Could I still have some?"**

Dipper slid his arms around Bill, smiling a little as he looked up to meet his eyes. Returning the kiss, he blushed faintly, breath catching in his throat before he tipped his head back invitingly. "Go ahead," he breathed.

**The demon grinned and kissed Dipper's neck one more time before sinking his teeth on it and sucking, eyes closing as he moaned around Dipper's flesh. He couldn't help but want the other's blood every once in a while, it was too good. He didn't take much though, since he didn't truly need it and, as much as he wanted it, he would rather not have his boyfriend pass out.**

Dipper gasped softly, head falling back farther as a shiver ran through him. Surprisingly, this was one of the things he had missed, the slight pain and the feeling of knowing that he trusted Bill enough not to push too hard or take too much.

**Bill pulled away and liked the wound once, making it go away along with the few drops of blood that had escaped his mouth. "I missed this too, a lot..." he said and kissed the corner of Dipper's mouth as he caressed the human's side under his clothes. "I missed the closeness, the intimacy..." Bill whispered in Dipper's ear and then nipped a little at it. "Making you shiver..."**

Dipper shuddered again, squirming just a little as fingers explored his skin and teeth grazed his ear. "Bill..." he whined softly, dropping a hand to slide under his shirt, up his back.

**The demon brushed one of Dipper's nipples and then sneaked his other hand into the human's pants, feeling him up through the fabric of his boxers. "I missed having your trust... You trust me, don't you, Mason?"**

A moam was pulled from his throat, the human arching into Bill's touch. "Yes, yes, of course," he mumbled, bucking his hips. "I trust you."

**"May I cover your eyes, my sapling?" The demon asked and offered the other a little smile. He had been wanting to try this since forever, but without his powers, without his ability to shapeshift, it was impossible. Now he could do it, but he wasn't sure how the other would react, so he needed to start slow and maybe it would be better if Dipper didn't see at first.**

Dipper blinked, breath hitching before he bit his lip a little. "Yeah," he agreed after a moment, smiling back and settling back to close his eyes. "Yeah... you can. I trust you."

*******

**The demon grinned and kissed Dipper softly as a blindfold appeared around his head. "If you want to take it off, just try to give me a little warning first," the demon asked before moving down Dipper's body and working on pushing his pants and underwear out of the way. He was a little worried about Dipper seeing him like this, a little self-conscious, you might say. Once he had left Dipper's lower half completely naked, Bill let through a bit more of his demonic self, his hands turning completely black and almost talon-like, the skin around his eyes doing the same. Tentacles than seemed to be made out of galaxies appeared being him and two of them tentatively sneaked under Dipper's shirt as the demon caressed his thighs with his hands.**

Dipper nodded, kissing him back before going completely still as the blindfold appeared around his eyes. He fidgeted just a little, not really sure how he felt about not being able to see- part of him was nervous, of course, and part of him really loved the idea of having no control, of not knowing what Bill was going to do next. Mainly because he trusted Bill; to stop if he needed, to get rid of the cloth if necessary. Shifting slightly to help Bill strip his clothing off, his breath picked up a little, heart just a little faster as he waited. Jumping slightly as... as something slid under his shirt, up his stomach, at the same time hands dragged along his thighs, Dipper went a little tense. "B-Bill...?" He asked, voice a little- both from arousal and nerves. What... what was that?

**Bill stopped moving, hearing the nervousness and hesitation in Dipper's voice, he didn't retreat though, not yet, the other hadn't exactly asked him to stop. "Yes, Mason, I'm right here," he reassured him and gently stroked his thighs once again, but didn't move his tentacles, keeping them as still as possible, though he could feel them dying to roam the other's body, they sort o had a mind of their own sometimes. "You trust me, right?" He asked again.**

Dipper hesitated, breath a little too shaky as he tangled his hands into the sheets. "Y-yeah, I do," he whispered. Bill wouldn't hurt him, he knew that. But it didn't make things any easier when he was doing mysterious, unknown things to his body and wasn't telling him what it was. "Wh-what are you... d-doing..?" He asked, almost too quiet to hear.

**Bill frowned, a bit worried about his human. He had expected him to be a little nervous, but not so nervous, he thought he would enjoy this, more stimuli were good, right? "I'm just touching you..." Bill decided to get his tentacles out of the way and he climbed up Dipper's body once again, gently cupping his face. "I can stop, something's wrong, isn't it?" He asked as he slowly turned back to 'normal' -or well, the normal Dipper was used to.**

Dipper relaxed slightly when whatever it fucking was moved away from his stomach, and instead, hands were pressed against his cheeks. The human was quick to reach up and wrap his hands around Bill’s wrists. “It’s... it’s just really unnerving when someone does something you’ve never experienced,” he tried to explain. “Especially since I c-couldn’t see.” He took a breath. “I’m okay now.. promise.”

**"That can't be it, we've tried different things before," Bill pointed out and once he was done hiding that part himself he pushed the blindfold out of the way to look at Dipper in the eyes. "My sweet sapling..." Bill sighed and took the human's pulse. There had to be more to the story. "I just... I rather you didn't see me like that, it's okay, I don't have to do it again."**

“I’ve never been blindfolded before,” he pointed out. “And I... I don’t know what that was, I’ve had experience with everything else we’ve done but not what just happened so it.. it worried me a little.” He was already much calmer, pulse settling down and his breathing starting to steady again.  “See you like what?” He asked.

**Bill sighed and ran a hand through the human's curly hair. "The real me, or well, closer to that, I couldn't truly show myself fully in this tiny space," the demon explained and smiled shyly at the other. "And that was me." Damn the Axolotl, he shouldn't have done that, how had he believe Dipper would be okay with it? Sure, a little demonstration of power was fine, but Dipper wouldn't want the real demon and that was fine, he was just human. "I'm sorry, I just... I thought you'd like it, I was wrong, I won't do it again," he reassured him and kissed his cheek.**

Dipper paused, blinking slowly before reaching up to gently slide his fingers through Bill’s hair, tugging very gently to pull him closer. “Show me,” he whispered, kissing him gently before he could answer. “I’m sorry- I shouldn’t have freaked out so much. Please, show me. I can put the blindfold back on if it makes things easier.”

**The demon smiled fondly at his human and shook his head. "You don't have to do that, Mason, I can respect your limits." If Dipper hadn't seemed so nervous earlier then maybe he would have considered trying again, but he really was afraid the other would end up panicking.**

Dipper smiled a little, slowly brushing his fingers down the back of Bill’s neck before reaching up to pull the blindfold back down, over his eyes, adjusting it to fit comfortably. “I’m asking you to keep going,” he said firmly. “It was just a combination of having no idea what was going on and adjusting to the blindfold. Please, Bill- show me.”

**Bill took a deep breath and nodded, then he realized the other couldn't see him, he kissed him and whispered in his ear. "Alright, but if you need me to stop, please tell me." Now Bill had more reasons not to want to end up pushing Dipper too far; first he didn't want to hurt him and second, he didn't want Dipper to panic and use the bond to stop him by accident. "If you really feel like you need to see..." Bill once again let his more demonic self out and with one of his fingers etched an eye on the wall. "You can access my eyes, I showed you how remember? But, please, just... Try not to?" Bill wouldn't be mad at Dipper if he did end up doing so, but he wasn't ready to show him.**

“I can use a safe word if it will make feel you better?” He suggested, shifting a little to settle down more comfortably while he waited. “Something easy, like ‘Red.’ Then you don’t have to worry about me not stopping things, I’ll have a way out.” He was rambling a little, trying to calm both Bill’s fears and his own nerves. Nodding a little, he smiled again. “Okay... okay. I won’t, but thank you for trusting me like that.”

**Bill almost wanted to punch himself for not thinking about that, but well, he wasn't that well versed in making things safe, he had never paid that much attention to those little things humans had. "That would be perfect," he said and kissed the tip of Dipper's nose, then he slowly went back to where they had left off, except this time he decided to start by letting Dipper get used to the foreign feel of his tentacles on their own. First, he sneaked one under Dipper's shirt and waited, paying close attention to the other's reaction.**

Dipper relaxed a little, letting out a soft, slow breath to calm himself further. The kiss to his nose and his laugh that followed finished the job. Just in time for the foreign thing to slip past his shirt again, settling over sensitive skin. His breath hitched, muscles tensing. It only lasted a few moments before he started to settle down again, part of his mind trying to figure out what it was, just based on the shape he could feel.

**Bill stopped moving again when he felt Dipper getting tense, but as soon as the other relaxed, he did as well and continued his slow exploration of Dipper's chest, shortly adding a second tentacle to the mix and cupping Dipper's cheeks again to pull him into a kiss.**

Dipper was adjusting pretty quickly to the feeling, now that he had some basis to go off of. Just Bill- Really Bill, a Bill he might never get to see. But that was fine because he got to feel instead. Shivering as the second one joined the first, he happily leaned up into the kiss.

**The demon grinned into the kiss, happy that the other was kissing him back, enjoying what they were doing despite that rough start. He circled one of Dipper's nipples teasingly with the tip of one of the tentacles and at the same time, a third one joined the party, creeping closer to Dipper's crotch.**

Dipper whined into the kiss, jolting forward slightly at the pressure against his nipple. A tiny part of his brain made the note that it had a tip, narrowing down the options for what it could be. “Bill,” he gasped, breaking the kiss.

**The demon chuckled and kissed Dipper's jaw. "Sensitive much, my sweet little tree?" He murmured and began wrapping the tentacle around the human's cock as he caressed Dipper's cheeks with his hands. "I've been dying to have you like this since the first time you let me touch you."**

Dipper bucked his hips and sliding his arms around the demon, holding tightly. His head tipped back, a low moan escaped his throat.

**The demon grinned and stroked Dipper for a little while before letting yet another tentacle come into play, wrapping itself around Dipper's waist and lifting him a little from the mattress to allow better access to his hole.**

Dipper moaned louder, squirming a little. Until he was lifted a bit- that was met with a surprised yelp.

**Bill stopped for a second and read Dipper's expression carefully before he continued stroking him and kissing him all over his neck and jaw, doing everything he could to distract him from what the fourth tentacle was meant to be doing, slowly, carefully creeping closer to Dipper's entrance and tentatively circling the rim of muscle.**

Dipper easily calmed back into the soft moans and whimpers from the attention, once the surprise of being lifted wore off. His breathing stopped once one touched his rim- for a moment before he leaned softly and arched closer. “Oh, oh, Bill...”

**The demon nipped softly at Dipper's neck. He wanted to bite again, but he wouldn't, he had taken from his already. "Such a good sapling," he murmured against the other's skin before licking his neck. "My sapling," he reminded the human and pushed the tip of the tentacle inside Dipper, using his magic to lube him up, since he didn't want to waste too much time with preparing him.**

“Your sapling,” he repeated, scrabbling at his shoulders as- he had figured it out by this point- as the tentacle pushed into him. Different. But really good, stretching him in just the right way, a sob escaping his throat.

**Bill moaned at the sound of those words coming from Dipper's mouth and he pressed his crotch against Dipper's leg, desperately looking for a little bit of friction. He was really hard inside his pants to the point where it was starting to hurt a little bit -you know, that good kind of pain Bill enjoyed so much-, but he wanted to play with Dipper a little more before giving him what they both obviously wanted.**

Dipper pressed his leg up slightly once he noticed, rubbing against Bill as best he could while being wrecked with pleasure. “Oh god, please, Bill, please! More, oh- please,” he begged around moans and whimpers.

**Bill used his tentacle to stretch Dipper a little more and then he moved to a sitting position and, as he unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock, he turned Dipper around and wrapped tentacles around the human's wrists and ankles to keep him in place. "More what?" He asked him, grinning like a madman. If anyone would have been able to see Bill's face right then, they would probably have been scared shitless. Well, anyone except maybe Dipper.**

Dipper struggled against the tentacles for a few moments, but really, he didn’t care that much about them. Actually, they made everything better- as did his knee position. “B-ill,” he cried out, curling his hands into the sheets tightly. “Please, Bill, I need you to fuck me, please!”

**Bill smirked and pressed himself against Dipper's back. He loved his, loved to be able to feel all of Dipper like this, two hands had never been enough. "What are you willing to give me in return?" He asked, whispering seductively on the human's ear. Of course, he was just playing, he wouldn't make a deal with Dipper just to fuck him.**

Dipper moaned as Bill settled over him, trying to arch back, get closer. “Anything! Just please, I can’t- I need you, please, I’ll give you anything!” He managed, grinding against the sheet slightly.

**Bill's eyes started glowing blue without him noticing. "Mmm... how about I take you, for all eternity?" He said and then he pulled the tentacle out of Dipper's ass -as much as he would have loved to do it, he knew Dipper was only human and wouldn't have been able to take both his cock and tentacle at the same time- and replaced him with his cock, pushing all the way in with one hard thrust.**

Dipper couldn’t actually answer- he was too busy muffling his scream as Bill filled him, thrashing as much as the boy on top of him and the tentacles holding him down would let him. The scream turned into several moans and sobs and babbled words about how good it was and needing more.

**Damn, he had certainly missed those screams of pleasure. Maybe Bill should soundproof their room next time, for the sake of everyone else in the shack... Nah, he actually liked that Dipper had most likely woken up everyone within a five-mile radius, everyone should know who Dipper Pines belonged to. The demon gave Dipper everything he asked, he fucked him hard and fast and as he did so his remaining tentacles and hands committed the human's body to memory and pumped his cock.**

Dipper was a complete mess, reduced to constantly cut of moans and quiet sobs and cries of pleasure as Bill slammed into him, over and over. He couldn't even give the demon a warning when he got close, just another drawn-out moan before he was coming. Sinking his teeth into the pillow below him to muffle the wrecked scream that dissolved into more sobs, his entire body trembling.

**Now Bill was sure sex couldn't get any better and he felt sorry for humans for the first time in his life, simply because they would never get to experience what he and Dipper had. The demon came seconds after his boyfriend, filling him up with cum until his stomach bulged out just a little. He took a moment to compose himself once again and then made all his tentacles retreat and made himself look more human once again. "Jeez, kid... Your screams are my favorite kind of music, did you know that?" He told Dipper and kissed his neck softly.**

Dipper jerked forward as he was filled, another weak sob escaping him before he went limp on the bed, unable to pull himself together or even push the blindfold off. Shivering a little at the kiss, he whined softly, trying to shift a little to be comfortable and finding his limbs unable to move. “Bill,” he croaked, voice wrecked.

*****  
The demon kissed Dipper a few more times before rolling over and helping Dipper turn a little to lay on his side. "I'm here, sapling," he told him as he untied the blindfold. He tossed it somewhere in the room and snapped his fingers to clean the mess they had made. "Did you enjoy it as much as I did?"**

Dipper reached out to grab at Bill, trying to drag him closer with shaking fingers and trembling arms. “Cold,” he whined, wanting him right there, right freaking now. “Hmm... Yeah... I did,” he breathed.

**"Oh, right," Bill pulled the blanket over them and changed his clothes to something more comfortable to sleep in -for Dipper's sake more than anything- before he pulled the human into his arms. "Better now?" He asked him and caressed his cheek with the back of his fingers.**

Dipper happily burrowed into Bill’s chest, pressing as close as he possibly could and devouring his warmth. “Better,” he agreed in a whisper, not even trying to get any louder. “Tired... sleep now,” he added, and it took no time for him to drop off after that.

**Bill had no choice but to fall asleep when Dipper did since he was still bound to the human, it was fine though, it meant he could spend longer with Dipper in his mind, even if the other had no idea he was there or that it was a dream.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, well... If anyone is still with us... Let us know if you're enjoying this so far! -Alga


	12. It Hurts, but it's Survivable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Dipper talk and Dipper realized that more than he expected happened the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, I almost forgot to update today. Let us know what you think! We love getting your comments (and I personally was worried about the possible reactions to the tentacle sex... so really those comments made my day) - Alga

**Will woke up in the middle of the night screaming. He hadn't had nightmares in weeks, but now that Dipper was no longer sleeping with him, they came back. He laid down awake in bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time before finally making up his mind and going out of his room to search for Dipper. It didn't take him long to find the human's new room. He knocked a couple of times and waited.**

Dipper jerked awake, sitting up at the knock. He had heard the scream, in his dreams, but his sleep-addled mind had brushed it off and plunged him back into dream land. The same, of course, couldn’t said of the knocking. “Hang on!” He called softly, easily pulling out of Bill’s arms to tug his pants and a shirt back on. Opening the door, he paused. “Will.. are you alright?” He asked, stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

**Bill woke up when Dipper did, but he pretended to still be asleep and put on some resistance when the other got away from his arms to try and keep him in bed. Whatever problem Will had it could wait till the morning right? But no, of course, Dipper went to the blue demon's aid.**

**"I- I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you, I just..." Will looked down at his feet and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "I can't sleep a-and I was wondering i-if you wouldn't mind if I slept in y-your room?"**

Dipper hesitated. “... how about I stay in your room instead?” He suggested quietly, glancing away and tugging at his sleeves. The talk could wait until the morning, right? Will didn’t need any more stress that night. Neither did Dipper, actually. “Did you have a nightmare?” He asked, gently settling a hand on Will’s shoulder and guiding him back to his room.

**"B-but won't Bill get mad?" Will said and turned to face Dipper again. "I-I can sleep on the floor, I d-don't mind." He simply needed the company, he didn't need to sleep cuddled with Dipper, as much as he would love it... The blue demon didn't want Bill to wake up and notice Dipper wasn't there and try to burn down the shack again.**

“Honestly? I think Bill would get mad no matter what I did at this point,” he said simply. “And I’d feel bad if you were on the floor... but I can check, I suppose. If that’s what you’d rather do.” He smiled a little. “He’s just pretending to be asleep, I know he is.”

**"O-okay," he preferred that getting Bill's opinion on the matter would be for the best, the yellow demon would like to have a say on this. "Please, do that, I-I don't want to cause y-you more trouble, Dipper."**

“You never cause me any trouble,” he said firmly, shaking his head a little. “Ever, Will. I’ll be right back.” Squeezing his shoulder gently, he slipped back into his room, leaving the door cracked. “Bill....”

**Bill had turned around, facing the wall and away from Dipper. He had his eyes closed, still pretending to be asleep, but he had been watching Will and Dipper, listening to their conversation and he knew what the human would ask him... He wished he wouldn't have gotten out of bed in the first place.**

“Bill, if you’re going to be immature about this, I’m going to take him back to his room and stay there,” he said, rolling his eyes and running his hand through his hair.

**Bill rolled his eyes and with a wave of his hand he made another bed appear in the room, as far away from theirs as possible. "Tell him to stop whining and come back to bed," the yellow demon told Dipper.**

Dipper stiffened, balling his hands into fists. “Bill, I swear, if you can’t be nice to him we’re going to have a serious problem,” he warned, turning on his heal and walking back to the door. “Come here, Will,” he said gently, smiling a little. ”Bill made you a bed.”

Bill sighed and closed his eyes again, clenching his jaw. "I'm trying." His first instinct had been to lock Dipper in the room and leave Will outside, alright? He really was trying, because he didn't want Dipper to get mad at him and he actually cared about **** **Will, he just hated that he still felt like the other was trying to steal what was his.**

**Will's eyes lit up and he walked towards the door. "R-really? He's not mad?"**

Dipper smiled a little. “Nope,” he agreed, not wanting to destroy that light. Backing up, he gestured to the bed. “Oh, hey, fair warning- the carpet is enchanted, if you’re standing on it and touch someone else you switch places.”

**"Oh..." Will nodded and used that little bit of access he had to his magic to float to the bed with a smile on his face. He already felt better knowing he wouldn't be alone in the room. "G-goodnight, Dipper," he said and then glanced at Bill. "Goodnight, Bill," he told him and the demon grunted a little to acknowledge him, but nothing more.**

“Good night, Will,” Dipper said gently. “Sweet dreams.” He returned to his own bed, curling up to sleep. Well, appear to sleep- he didn’t actually let himself drop off until he was sure Will was okay.

 

Even then Dipper’s sleep wasn’t peaceful- he had ordered Bill before not to mess with his dreams, and having completely forgotten about that, was tossed head first into a nightmare all about being literally ripped to shreds by wolves.

**Bill could only watch as Dipper struggled through the dream and it was the most frustrating and painful thing ever. When they both woke up that next morning, the first thing Bill did was pull the human into a hug and kissed him a couple times, hoping to make him feel better after that horrible nightmare and completely forgetting about his reasons not to be in a good mood.**

Dipper was shaking, gasping for breath as he woke. It took very little convincing for him to fall into Bill’s arms, fighting tears as he returned the kiss before hiding his face in the yellow demon’s chest. It was no surprise, to him at least, why he had a dream like that.

**Bill held on to Dipper until he calmed down enough to talk and only then he pulled away and looked at him in the eyes, a worried look on his face. “You’re alright, it was just a nightmare, Mason,” Bill reassured him and wiped away the tears from his face. “Just a nightmare and I’m right here.” He offered him a gentle smile.**

Dipper nodded, wiping his eyes and smiling weakly. Just a dream. A dream that said more about his current state of mind then he’d like to admit, but a nightmare nonetheless. “I’m okay,” he assured. “I forgot that you weren’t allowed to change my dreams,” he added conversationally.

**“Yes, I’m sorry, I wanted to...” He had struggled against the bond and the chains had gotten tighter while they slept. The sheets were stained with black blood but his wrists were fine since now he had no problem healing fast, full access to his powers and all that. “Can you take back that rule?” He asked and ran his fingers through Dipper’s hair.**

“No, no, it’s okay,” he assured quickly, resting his head on Bill’s shoulder again. “There was nothing you could have done. But... but yeah, I probably can.” Pausing, he mentally reached out to touch the bond. “You are... allowed and encouraged.. to change my dreams unless expressly tell you not to,” he settled on.

**“Fair enough,” Bill said and let out a sigh. “Are you feeling better?” He asked him, running a hand up and down the human’s back to try and sooth him.**

Dipper nodded. ”Yeah, I feel much better.”

**The demon smiled and kissed Dipper again before moving away and stretching a little. He glanced in the direction of Will’s bed and when he noticed he wasn’t there he smiled a bit. “Seems like Will must have been feeling better as well.”**

Dipper kissed him back softly, yawning a little as he pulled back. Glancing up, he smiled softly. “Yeah- he beats me awake pretty often, probably started breakfast already.” Stretch until several of his joints cracked, he stood to get dressed.

**"Huh, he cooks for you?" He could probably do that, he already knew the basics it was only a matter of picking up a cookbook and start learning... Then again, just making the food appear was faster. Bill got out of bed and wrapped his arms around Dipper's waist, stopping him from changing. "What a shame, I was thinking breakfast in bed would be nice..."**

“It makes him feel useful,” he explained, tugging his shirt over his head. “I was never able to get him to stop thinking that he needed to earn his keep.” He had one of Bill’s button ups over his arm, planning on putting it on over his shirt, when Bill wrapped his arms around him. “Hmm..? We could bring it back to bed.”

**The demon kissed Dipper's neck and took the button up from his hands. “I can bring it, you don't even need to move, you need more rest after that nightmare." And after all the sleepless nights he had to go through because of Bill's situation. "You have bags under your eyes, Mason."**

Dipper stole it back, sliding it on over his shirt. “I always have bags under my eyes,” he pointed out, part way buttoning it up. “And I need to do this, Bill. This talk needs to happen and I need to know that I can continue on with my life.”

**Bill sighed and let go of the human. "Well, when you put it like that..." The demon changed back into his suit with a wave of his hand and waited for Dipper to be ready so that they could both walk to the kitchen together. "What are you going to tell him exactly? Do you want me to give you some privacy?" That would probably be for the best.**

Dipper smiled a little, kissing Bill on the cheek before he finished getting ready for the day. Running his fingers through his hair to smooth it down, the human went to the door. "I'm... still working on what I'm going to say. But, yeah... We should be alone when I do."

**Bill nodded and took Dipper's hand. "Then I'll be out in the forest, you can join me later?" He didn't need to eat breakfast and he felt it would be better if he didn't see Will at all, at least not until the other demon had all the information and understood perfectly how things would be from then on. Bill kissed Dipper's cheek and headed for the door.**

Dipper nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you later," he hummed, making sure Bill was gone before letting his shoulders slump, his back pressing against the wall, head lowered. He didn't want to do this, part of him felt like it was dying, trying to silence the feelings and that part of his personality that allowed this to happen. Taking several steadying breaths, he went to the kitchen.

**Will looked over his shoulder at Dipper and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He knew what was coming, Bill Cipher didn't share and Will knew that if Dipper hadn't already chosen him then he wouldn't have allowed him to sleep in the same room last night. There was also the small mark on Dipper's neck, the outline of a triangle. "Good morning, Dipper," Will greeted the other and turned around completely, handing the human a cup of coffee and a plate with scrambled eggs and bacon.**

Dipper returned the smile, and like Will's, it got nowhere near his eyes. "Good morning, Will," he responded softly, taking the plate and the cup. "Thanks," he added, trying for another smile that wasn't any better before turning to take a seat at the table. Slowly, he picked at his food, more pushing it around his plate than anything.

**Will sat down in front of Dipper and waited for a while for him to say something, but when he noticed how much the human was obviously struggling to say the words, he took his hand, squeezed it a little and decided to give him a break. "It's okay, Dipper, I know," he told him and sighed, glancing at the mark on Dipper's neck and then back at his hand. "Congratulations by the way, I... I never thought Bill would be one to propose to anyone..." He obviously loved Dipper.**

Dipper looked up, squeezing his hand back gently. "It isn't fa-" he stopped, words stuttering to a stop. Wait- wait what? "P-propose?" He asked weakly, head spinning. "Bill never.. he didn't... what?"

**Will frowned a little, confused by Dipper's surprise. The blue-haired demon pointed at the mark on the side of Dipper's neck. "That's a proposal, he has to have asked you..." Dipper still hadn't answered or the triangle would be complete, not just it's outline. How had Bill proposed without Dipper noticing?**

Dipper reached up to touch the side of his neck, frowning slightly. Wh- he only remembered Bill biting him. Pulling out his phone, he turned it on to see what was on his neck. "... When did that happen?" He whispered, running his finger along the outline, trying to think back to the night before. Nothing really came to mind, just the mind numbing pleasure and the realization that Bill had tentacles- tentacles, god, that was an entire realization on its own- ".. I'm going to have to talk to Bill about that..."

**"Maybe it was an accident," Will immediately suggested afraid that maybe Bill hadn't wanted Dipper to know yet and would get mad at Will for telling him. "Maybe he didn't know what he was doing." The demon found that hard to believe, Bill rarely lost control over his powers and when he did it was usually because of anger and that certainly wouldn't lead to a proposal.**

Dipper nodded, lowering his hand to the table again. "Yeah... Yeah, maybe." He could see why it would be an accident. A lot had happened last night. Bill, also, might have just done it as a spur of the moment thing last night. Shaking his head, he focused his attention back on Will. ".. Do you want me to explain my choices?" He asked softly.

**Will sighed and glanced away, towards the window and the forest. "You don't have to. I knew you loved Bill, I was almost certain that if he came back you would choose him and I..." The demon took a deep breath. "I just have to deal with it."**

Dipper shook his head. “I don’t want to choose,” he said softly. “If it was completely up to me, I’d be with both of you with no problems. Because I can do that. But... but I know that we can still have some kind of relationship if we’re not together. I couldn’t with Bill. It hurts, but it’s survivable.”

**Will nodded a little and squeezed Dipper's hand. He wanted to lean in and kiss his cheek but he was afraid Bill might be watching them. "Bill Cipher doesn't share and he would want to kill everyone if you didn't choose him, it's okay, I get it." It hurt like hell, but, like Dipper said, it was survivable.**

Dipper smiled sadly, reaching up to wipe his eyes. "You're right," he said softly, laughing a little. He was dying inside, but that was nothing new, he would just have to bury the feelings.

**Will gulped and reached for Dipper's face, gently wiping away the tears. "It'll be fine," he tried to reassure him, though he was also dying inside. "Bill will make you happy, I bet you'll be laughing again in less than a week." The demon was sure that Dipper's feelings for him would eventually go away, they hadn't been together for long.**

Dipper leaned into his hand slightly, sighing softly. "I can be laughing and still hurt," he said quietly, closing his eyes tightly before pulling away and taking several deep breaths. "Alright," he said, some sort of finality in his voice. "I... This isn't going to ruin us, right?" He asked, opening his eyes again and offering a shaky smile. "Because I don't... want to hurt you, so if you need me to back off, keep distance between us, I will, but... That isn't what I want."

**Will shook his head and let out a sad laugh. “I went back crawling to your side after one nightmare, Dipper, I couldn’t last a night without you and you think I’ll be able to stay away?” Will didn’t think he could even if he wanted to, even if maybe that would be better for him.**

Dipper smiled, standing and coming over to Will's side and resting a hand on his shoulder. "I can't either, Will. So.. until you want me to go, I'll be right here." Sighing softly, he shook his head, squeezing gently.

**The demon smiled shyly and nodded. “I don’t think I’ll want you to go, not ever, but okay.” Will stood up and poured himself a mug of coffee. “So... Bill is fully himself now? He remembers everything? I... I noticed you gave him full control of his powers.” If he had to be honest it made him a little nervous.**

Dipper smiled back, nodding a little. "Well, good, cause I don't really want to leave," he teased lightly. Picking up his cup, he nodded, moving to lean back against the counter. "Yep, to all of that. The bond is still there, since we want to be sure this is real and isn't going to go away in a few days, but so far... yeah."

**“Oh, you figured out how to get rid of the bond?” That was information Will could use, he still had no access to his power and if he had to be honest he lived in constant fear of Mason tracking him through their bond and dragging him back...**

“.. not yet,” he sighed a little, swirling the cup slowly. “I’m going to start working on it, see about breaking it for both of you,” he explained, looking up at Will. “Since I’d rather not die.”

**Will shook his head. “Mason wouldn’t kill you,” Will reassured the other, assuming he was talking about that. “He wouldn’t be able to, that would kill him as well.”**

Dipper paused, before smiling a little and shaking his head. “Not what I meant, but that’s some damn good information to have. I meant the only way Bill knows to break the bond- either me or him dying.”

**"Oh, I'm sure Bill knows how to go about that if there's no other way..." Will preferred it if no one had to die, even Mason... But he knew the other deserved it and that was how Bill usually solved things so he wouldn't stand in his way.**

Dipper nodded a little. “I’m sure,” he hummed, bumping against Will gently. “I’ll start doing some research this afternoon, when we get back from our walk. Maybe we’ll find a way that’s easy for both of you, so we’ll never have to deal with your Mason again.”

**Will smiled a little. That was a nice thing to think about, not dealing with Mason Gleeful again... Perfect. "Alright, let me know if you want help." Will finished his coffee and stood up to do the dishes.**

Dipper smiled, nodding. “You could help me look through the books, it would go faster.”

**The blue-haired demon grinned and nodded. "I'll do that." It would mean more time around Dipper, he would do anything for that, really**

Dipper nodded, smiling a little before turning to rinse out his cup. "This afternoon, promise. I'm gonna go meet Bill in the woods for a while."

**"Tell him I say hi," Will told Dipper and waved him goodbye. "I'll see you later then."**

"I will," Dipper hummed, smiling a little and waving back. "See ya!"

 

**Bill was pacing around the tree were Dipper had one of his treehouses. He was so tempted to spy on Will's and Dipper's conversation, make sure nothing was happening between them... But no, he had to trust Dipper, he had to... And there was also the issue of Dipper finding out, if he did he would be extremely disappointed at Bill. So he had to wait and not knowing made him anxious, so he paced.**

It took him a little while to find Bill, wondering through the nearby woods until he found the right treehouse and the pacing, clearly at least a little upset and anxious, demon. "Hey there, Bill," he hummed, sliding his hands in his pockets as he walked up to him. "Will says hi. Everything okay here?"

**Bill sighed in relief when the other finally appeared and he nodded, putting on a smile. "Everything's great, I was just waiting for you," he reassured him and floated towards the human, closing the distance between them. He gently cupped Dipper's cheek and kissed him. His expression changed completely when he pulled away and finally noticed the mark on Dipper's neck. He could swear that hadn't been there before. Bill's eye twitched a little and his hands started turning black. "I thought you clearly told me nothing would happen between you two." If Will had proposed...**

Dipper kissed him back, sliding his arms up around his neck to keep him there. Blinking, he reached up to touch his neck. "Are you kidding me right now? You put that there! Will asked when you proposed! I was going to ask you what it meant, because I certainly do not remember any proposal!" He pushed himself out of Bill's space, folding his arms over his chest. "So. Explain that, Bill"

 **Bill's eyes went wide and he shook his head. "I didn't, when would I have- OH..." Realization downed on him and he turned completely red because** **_oh lord deals were supposed to be his thing, how come he had been so distracted that he hadn't noticed he practically made one._ ** **Sure, a proposal was no ordinary deal. but it was still sort of a deal, a mutual agreement to spend your life together with someone else. "Shit, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I- I can take it back." Why did it hurt to say that? It had been an accident... But damn, now he didn't want to take it back, did he?**

Dipper instantly covered it with his hand, narrowing his eyes a little as he looked at Bill. "No. First, you're going to tell me when it happened. And then I expect some kind of apology because really, Bill, after everything we've been through why they hell would you think I'd go behind your back like that? That Will would do something like that? Are you out of your god damn mind?"

**"Well... I never denied being insane..." the demon tried to joke as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. He was an idiot, he knew it, but jealousy was powerful and maybe he was a little too possessive. "I... I think I did it last night, when I told you I'd take you for eternity, I didn't mean to, I was a little... distracted." Bill chuckled and then sighed.**

Dipper arched an eyebrow, clearly not willingly to let the demon joke his way out of this situation. Folding his arms over his chest, he waited, nodding a little as he thought back- he could barely remember that, in some pleasure filled memories. "Huh, I see," he said calmly. "Well... you understand if I don't say yes right now, yeah? Kinda early. But also, leave it alone."

**Bill grinned and took a step closer to Dipper. “Really? You don’t want me to get rid of it?” That had to be huge... Sure, Dipper wasn’t saying yes and the was fine, Bill believed it was early too, but the fact that he wasn’t asking him to get rid of it had to mean he was considering saying yes in the future.**

Dipper smiled, nodding again. "Yeah.. It's kinda like.. having your name tattooed on my body somewhere. I like the implication behind it." He shrugged a little, blushing faintly. It was a little weird, and it made the whole thing with Will more complicated, but he still liked it. "But in a few years I expect another proposal, you're better then this," he teased lightly.

**Bill chuckled and nodded, taking another step closer to the human and closing the distance the other had put between them. “I will, it’ll be the best proposal this town has ever seen, I promise, sapling,” he said and kissed the other. “I’m sorry I reacted like that, I...” the demon said once he broke the kiss. “I guess I feel a little threatened by Will, a little jealous.”**

Dipper chuckled softly, taking his own step forward to meet the demon part way. “I’ll hold you to that,” he grinned, sliding his arms around Bill’s neck as he returned the kiss, keeping him close as he lightly played with the demon’s hair. “You shouldn’t,” he said softly, something in his eyes closing off, shuttering. “We’re fine- we’re all fine.”

**Bill sighed and closed his eyes as well. "I just... I guess I can see why you'd want him..." Will was as smart as he was knew almost as much as Bill, he was just as powerful... But he was the good one, he was shy and didn't like hurting people, didn't like giving people nightmares, didn't like chaos the way he did and Bill sometimes felt that Dipper would like him to be more like that, to actually have a working moral compass.**

Dipper sighed softly, slowly leaning his forward to rest against Bill’s chest. There wasn’t much he could say to assure him, he didn’t want to lie. He did want Will, for so many reasons, and most of them were different then why he wanted Bill. So, finally, he said the only thing he could say. The only thing that was true. “You don’t have to worry about it, Bill... I picked you." Because he didn’t- Dipper had made his choice. Him and Will had decided that they were going to stick by it.

**Bill knew that should reassure him, Dipper had meant it that way, but he was too good with words to know those had been chosen very carefully. Dipper didn't want to lie to him. He wanted to push, but he tried to be a little bit more decent, swallow his mild anger and insecurities and just smile at the other. "And it makes me really happy that you did." He hoped Dipper was happy too, he really didn't want to make him miserable, he had offered him to leave, as much as that would have destroyed him...**

Dipper smiled, lifting his head to press a kiss to his forehead. "I am too. I wouldn't have agreed to let this stay on my neck if I wasn't serious. If I wasn't happy," he explained softly, ducking his head to brush his nose up his neck. And he was, he really was happy, he just didn't think Bill understood that he could be both really happy and slowly dying.

**The demon smiled and traced the triangle with his finger, then he moved away and offered Dipper his arm. "Are you in the mood for a walk in the woods?" Bill was avoiding the shack and everyone in it, he knew how he had treated the Pines and he usually wouldn't care but... they had also been living with a better version of him and he hated the thought of them trying to convince Dipper to stay with Will or comparing him to the blue demon... He preferred to stay away.**

Dipper smiled, happily linking their arms together. “I walk in the woods sounds great,” he agreed. He didn’t want to go back to the Shack yet, he craved the few peaceful moments he was going to get. He didn’t want to deal with the fallout yet- Not Ford’s disappointment or the looks he was sure to get from Mabel.

**Bill was actually considering living in the woods, or at least spending most of his time here to avoid the others. He could sleep with Dipper every night and then the rest of the day he could be out in the woods. The first snow would soon start to fall and it was unlikely that the Pines would want to go out. Though that also meant Dipper would probably not go out as much either so Bill was still thinking about it. "Are you going to talk to Ford later today?" Bill asked after a long moment of comfortable silence.**

Dipper crunched through the fallen and dying leaves, enjoying the peace of the woods and the warmth of a body against his side. It would snow soon, and the lake would freeze within another few weeks. He promised Will they’d ice skate, maybe he could take Bill with, trying and mend the ragged edges of his life back together. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be something, in the end. “Yeah, gonna have to at some point. He’s bound to notice that the cell is empty.”

**"Oh, I put an illusion there, I didn't want anyone to panic and come looking for you, for us, and interrupt our time together," the demon explained with a smirk. He had put it there the night before, just in case, if Ford saw he wasn't there he would have immediately searched for Dipper and eventually check their new room and... He didn't think Dipper would appreciate his great uncle walking in on what they were doing.**

Dipper laughed, shaking his head a little. "Clever, very clever. But you can get rid of it, I don't mind talking to him about it and it'll actually be easier if he doesn't think you're still locked up," he thought out aloud, leaning into Bill a little more.

**"Sure, do you want me to get rid of it now?" Bill used his eye to look into the lab, he was surprised the old scientist hadn't found the etched eye he had put on the lab months ago. "He's in there," he told Dipper as he saw Ford going through some notes, barely paying attention to the cell. "He might freak out a little if I get rid of it now, but it would be hilarious." The demon glanced at Dipper with a grin. "We could watch together!"**

Dipper snickered softly, nodding eagerly. That would be a little mean, but it would also be a lot of fun. "We should totally do that," he agreed, coming a little closer to keep himself steady while he tapped in to the eye with the Demon.

**Bill grinned. He liked being a bit of a bad influence on Dipper, it felt great when the other wanted to share this sort of things with him. "And..." Bill snapped his fingers and the illusion ended, leaving the cell completely empty. "It's done."**

Dipper hummed softly, closing his eyes so he could tap into the magic and watch how Ford would react once he saw that Bill was missing.

**Ford saw the cell was empty through the corner of his eye and immediately looked up from his notes. "What?!" He walked towards the cell and took a good look at it. Yes, definitely empty. "H-how?!" He backed down and tripped, making him fall on his desk. "It can't be..." He turned around quickly and ran out of the lab, calling out for Dipper.**

**"Huh... He didn't freak out as much as I was expecting," Bill closed his eyes and focused back on where they were. "But hey, it's done."**

Dipper was giggling helplessly, leaning on Bill as he broke off and opened his eyes. "He tripped over his desk!" He laughed, completely falling apart with laughter and clinging to Bill to stay standing.

**Dipper's laugh made the demon smile a little, fond of his human and how easily he could be amused. "I guess it was a little funny..." He kissed Dipper and let the other lean against him for as long as he needed. "It could have been better though, but it was worth it. That laugh made it worth it," he whispered and caressed Dipper's cheek.**

He settled down fairly quickly, giggling into the kiss softly before pulling away. Blushing, he ducked his head, nuzzling against his shoulder. "We should head back soon," he hummed. "We're pretty far out already and it'll take time to get to the Shack. Besides," he grinned. "I don't want Ford to have a heart attack or anything."

**"Well, he knows you wouldn't give me back my powers unless I was okay so, while he might be freaking out a little, he can't be that scared." Still, Bill turned them around and started walking back towards the shack. He wasn't eager to be back, otherwise he, would have simply opened a rift for them to go through.**

Dipper slid his hand down to take Bill’s, squeezing gently. “That’s fair,” he hummed thoughtfully. “Unless he thinks you managed to kill me when I wasn’t looking and took complete control,” he added, almost teasingly.

**"Do you really think he would give me that much credit?" Bill asked, smiling a little. He didn't think Ford would think highly enough of him to be able to do that considering Dipper had complete control over him.**

“I think if he really wanted to he could,” he hummed, chuckling softly. “He can convince himself of a lot of things.”

**"That is true," the demon huffed a laugh and nodded. "Well, I'll go directly to our room then, in case he tries to kill me, I might need to use to window to get in." Of course, he could just go in through a rift.**

**When they finally reached the shack, Bill spotted Ford getting out of it and stopped Dipper from getting any closer. "Good luck, my sapling," he told him before turning into a really tiny version of his triangle self and floating away.**

Dipper leaned up into his hand, laughing a little. “Alright. I’ll see you later,” he hummed, smiling a little as he looked up at Ford. Adjusting his collar so the triangle was completely visible and moved over to his uncle. “Hey, Ford,” he hummed, grinning.

**"Dipper! Where were you? I called you but your phone was turned off and Bill somehow got out of his cell, I was worried." He hadn't gone to imagine the worse, but he was close.**

Dipper smiled a little, coming closer. “It’s okay, Ford. I was in the woods. With Bill.”

**"Oh, you let him out?" Ford was a little surprised considering Dipper had barely been to the lab in the last two weeks and when he did Bill treated him like shit, like he did to everyone else, or he ignored him.**

Dipper’s smile slowly grew. “Yep. Only made sense, now that he has his memories back.”

**Ford's expression changed completely to one of surprise. "Really? How did you managed to do that?" They had been trying for weeks and the demon hadn't shown signs of getting any better.**

“Will did it. I was upstairs when it happened,” he explained. “I only found out afterwards.”

**"Well, that's great news," Ford said but he didn't smile, instead looked away from Dipper and sighed. "So... What about you and Will?" Maybe they hadn't made it official but it had been pretty obvious for everyone that something was going on between them.**

Dipper’s expression instantly fell, for a moment this unbelievably sad look crossed his face before that was hidden as well. Of course, they would have noticed, it wasn’t like the were subtle. “What about me and Will.”

**Ford rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "I know you and him liked each other, maybe even were dating. Look-" Ford turned to face Dipper once again, a stern look on his face. "I know you had strong feelings for Bill, I know he was good for you, but he still chose his power over you, Dipper, that's not good."**

Dipper ran his fingers through his hair, before folding his arms over his chest. “... I had to make a choice,” he started weakly, bowing his head slowly. He stood like that before slowly reaching up to touch the triangle on his neck and finally finishing his sentence. “And I picked the pain that I could survive.”

**Ford frowned a little and took a step closer to Dipper. "What's that?" He asked, only then noticing the triangle on Dipper's neck. He sure hoped it wasn't something too bad...**

Dipper dropped his hand. “A wedding proposal. From Bill. I haven’t said yes yet.”

**"Wed- Dipper, are you sure about what you're doing? And I'm not saying this just because I don't like Bill, Will is considerate, he cares about you and he cares about your wellbeing, I'll find it hard to believe if you told me Bill is the same." Ford just wanted the best for his nephew.**

“I didn’t ask him, and he said it was more of an accident then anything,” he said softly. “I just told him not to get rid of it..” reaching up, he slowly wiped his eyes. “If it was up to me I wouldn’t be in this situation!”

**The old scientist gave Dipper a worried look. "Is..." He placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Did Bill threaten you?" Why else wouldn't Dipper be able to do what he wanted?**

Dipper shook his head, sighing. “No... no, he didn’t threaten me. It’s just... I love them both, Ford. But I can’t have them both. And both choices hurt, but I’m choosing the option that hurts a little less.”

**"Oh..." Ford hadn't thought about that. "I see... That is a complicated situation." He couldn't help him with that, he could barely help him with one relationship, since he hadn't dated since... well, he hadn't dated. "And choosing Bill hurts less?"**

Dipper nodded, staring down at the ground. He hated things like this, sometimes he hated himself. "Yeah... yeah, it is. Because if I had picked Will, I would have never seen Bill again. Picking Bill means that... that I can still spend time with Will. It hurts less then cutting one of them out of my life entirely."

**Ford offered Dipper a sad smile and patted his shoulder. "Well, I just hope you find a way to be happy." Ford wouldn't show it, not around Dipper, but he wanted to kill Bill, if the yellow demon hadn't acted like the selfish asshole he usually was and had accepted living without his powers then Dipper wouldn't be in this shitty situation right now. Maybe he needed to talk with said demon, just to get the anger out of his chest.**

Dipper leaned into the touch a little. "I am happy," he said weakly, shaking his head a little. "As happy as I have any right to expect to be, anyway. Lets be real here, Ford- I was never meant for true happiness. Anyway, now you know, so I'm going back to our room. We took over the one in the basement, with the magic carpet." Quickly, he brushed past, rubbing at his eyes again.

**Ford let him go, his shoulders dropping a little. He didn't want Dipper to think like that, of course, he was meant for true happiness. He wished there was something he could do more to help, but it seemed that the only thing was to talk to Bill, get mad at him a little, shout... The chances of the demon listening to him and seeing reason were low, but he would try. Some other day though.**

 

Dipper needed to spend a few minutes calming down before he was able to face Bill. So far, he had been able to hide his feelings pretty well, and he was hoping that he would be able to keep that up until the day he died. Once he was steady again, he went into their room, smiling a little.

 **Bill was laying in bed, reading a book, still looking like a triangle. When he heard the door, he looked up from his book and changed his appearance once again. "How did it go?" He asked and moved aside a bit so that Dipper would sit next to him. "Was he mad that you and I are still together?"** **_When we both know you have a 'better' option_ ** **went unsaid.**

Dipper shrugged a little. "He just wants me to be happy," he said simply, taking a seat next to Bill and leaning back against him. "Wants to make sure I make the choices that bring me the most happiness."

**Bill smiled and wrapped an arm around Dipper. “Well, glad he’s not going to be all up in our business.” He definitely didn’t need that. “By the way, I might spend a good amount of time in the woods in the next couple of days... There’s a few things I want to do and I’d like to avoid your family.” And Will.**

"Yeah, that would be nice.." Dipper nodded, snuggling a little closer. "Alright.. thank you for letting me know. Will and I are going to start research on breaking the bond, probably tomorrow or the day after.

**“Sounds... good.” It was a good idea, he would just have to deal with Dipper and Will spending time together while he worked on his secret project, it would be fine.**


	13. Someone Else's Shoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Body-swapping is a great way to fix things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for more smut. I'm sorry, people... Not really :P - Alga

**The next couple of days were good, at least for Bill and he assumed they were also good for Dipper since he seemed happy. They usually had breakfast in bed so that Bill didn’t have to face Will, and after that Bill went into the woods to work on his project and got back around 4 pm or so. It wasn’t that he wanted to spend that long away from Dipper, but he lost the track of time in the woods.**

**Anyway, it didn’t matter, as soon as his project was done he would have a solution to his problem. Every once in a while he felt the need to spy on the other two, but he usually tried to avoid it, reminding himself that they were just working and that in the end Dipper always went back to him. The nights were theirs and they made the most out of them.**

**That morning he had gotten out of bed before Dipper, eager to head to the woods. His project was almost done and if he finished it that day he would be able to finally show the human. Bill kissed Dipper goodbye and told him he would see him later, then he headed outside. He wasn’t expecting Sixer to follow him.**

This was the perfect chance to get him alone. Ford needed to talk to the demon, Bill had to know what he was putting Dipper through, how much he had ruined with his actions. That he couldn't just waltz back in and pretend everything was alright. He continued to follow the demon, planning on stopping him soon if they didn't reach his destination.

**Bill noticed Ford following him almost right away, but he gave him the benefit of the doubt for a while. Maybe they were just heading in the same direction and the other would leave him in a bit. When it became clear Ford was blatantly following him though, the demon turned around and faced him. "What is it, Sixer, are you trying to sneak up on me to stab me in the back?"**

Ford paused, before steadily closing the distance between them and folding his arms over his chest. “No- we need to talk. About Dipper.”

**Bill narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest as well. "What about him?" He could see it coming, Ford would ask him to leave.**

Ford looked him over slowly, his voice dropping to something icy, cold. "I'm not going to tell you to leave, because he clearly needs you. But do you realize how much pain you're causing him?"

**Bill frowned a little. "What are you talking about? We're happy!" Dipper would tell him if he wasn't, right? No, he had to be... Why would he accept to keep the mark if he wasn't?**

"He's also hurting!" He snapped back. "The conditions and ultimatums you've put on your relationship are causing him physical pain."

**Bill shook his head, refusing to believe that. "He would have told me and what did you expect me to do anyway!" What? He was supposed to share his Pine Tree? No, he couldn't do that, eventually Dipper would realize that Will was a lot better than him and he would stop loving him if he did that.**

"He did tell me, he told me that either choice hurt but that he was never really meant for true happiness! So he picked the one that hurt the least! Picking you was the one that hurt the least."

**Bill bit his lip and looked away. He kept silent for a long moment and then turned to face Ford once again. “Let’s say I believe you, which I don’t, but let’s say it for the sake of argument, what am I supposed to do?”**

Ford rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I suggest talking to him about it since Dipper is perfectly capable of caring for and dating both of you at the same time- based on what I know, that is." He paused, before turning to walk away. "But you don't share, even when it causes problems."

**Bill clenched his jaw and turned around. He would deal with that later, he had to think and working on his secret project would probably help his mood. He didn’t want to go back and make the problem even worse by getting frustrated and/or angry at his boyfriend.**

 

Dipper... was pretty okay. He was happy, fairly regularly, whenever he was distracted enough or had gone long enough without seeing Will to temporarily forget that he was dying. However... a decent chunk of time was still spent pretending that he couldn't feel his heart rip in two, or that his insides weren't being stabbed and twisted and leaving him breathless as he tried to get through each day. That his body didn't just ache sometimes, from the effort of keeping himself in check. Him and Will were supposed to do more research that day, and.. it was a little bit of a bad day. He was having trouble getting himself going, shuffling across the room to slowly go about getting ready. 

**Will waited for Dipper in the kitchen like he always did, breakfast ready, but when he noticed the other was taking too long he decided to go and check on him, taking his food with him. Dipper usually had breakfast in bed anyway, since, apparently, Bill was avoiding him...**

**The blue demon made his way to the couple's room and knocked, just in case the reason for Dipper being late was... private. When nobody replied and he was sure he couldn't hear moans from the other side, Will slowly opened the door. "Dipper? Are you okay?"**

Dipper turned to face Will, pulling up a little smile. “Oh.. hey. Sorry, Will, it’s just a bit of a slow morning kind of day. Having some issues convincing myself that I should do things instead of just laying back in bed,” he explained. “Didn’t mean to worry you.”

**"Oh, yes, I know how that is," Will offered Dipper a gentle smile and walked into the room, forgetting about the carpet. "We don't have to do research today if you don't want to, we could watch a movie or just talk?" He placed the tray with Dipper's breakfast over the human's bed.**

Dipper paused, before nodding and smiling again. "Yeah... maybe a movie or something for a little while- we could do research later. A break would be good." He crossed the room to come to Will's side, picking up the coffee cup on the tray.

**Will sat on the bed and smiled. He felt it would be good for the two of them, more like before, in the last couple of days the only thing they had done was research and their interaction was limited to that. Bill missed the other stuff. The blue-haired demon took Dipper's hand and pulled them down so that the other would sit down, but something happened, he felt a shock of electricity go through his body and then passed out for a brief second.**

They would need this, in the end, it would be better for everyone involved if they were able to just spend a few hours relaxing together. It would help with their relationship and to steady them both and maybe, just maybe, it would help with the pain in Dipper's chest. Taking Will's hand without a thought, he froze, crumpled to the ground. 

The first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes was that he only had one, that part of his vision was cut off by blackness. And the cuffs around his wrists. "SHIT!"

**Will opened his eyes to see himself sitting on the bed and he started to panic. "Wh-what happened?" He asked and noticed his voice wasn't his. Dipper had told him something about this, hadn't he? The carpet had magical properties... Damn, he had fucked up. "I-I'm sorry, Dipper, I didn't mean to, I should have been more careful," he started apologizing.**

Dipper shook his head quickly, standing slowly and trying to get used to the new body he had found himself in. "It's okay, Will, I forgot about it, too. It'll be okay. We'll just have to figure out how Mabel and I switched back," he assured soothingly, looking down at the demon in his body. 

**Will took a few deep breaths trying to calm down. It was his fault but it was okay, Dipper wasn’t mad. “Maybe if we just...” The demon reached for Dipper again but nothing happened. “I don’t get it.” They had to be missing something...**

Dipper shook his head. "There was... we had to do something, but I don't remember what it was. I think we'll just have to.. make the best of this situation." Smiling a little, he ran his fingers through the blue strands, careful not to knock off the eye patch. 

**The demon nodded a little and sat on the bed. “Bill is going to be mad...” He could see it already, the other demon would likely jump to conclusions about this. Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn’t going to be easy. Not being in chains for a change was nice though.**

“He’ll just have to get over it. It wasn’t like we were having sex on the floor- we touched. Once. At some point he’s going to have to realize that he can’t control what I do with you. I’m already doing as much as I’m willing to do.” Rubbing his eye, he started to pace the room. He was still adjusting a little, settling into a comfortable gait and trying to think back to what they had done before. “Suppose we could talk to her when she gets back, Mabel might remember. Or she scrapbooked it.”

**Will blushed a little at the mention of sex because he couldn’t help himself from imagining it. He would have liked that... he had been getting a little more comfortable with the idea lately, knowing Dipper would treat him gently, considering everything that had happened to him in the past... but of course nothing had had the chance to happen. “That’s a good idea, when does she come back?” He asked and tried to clear his mind a little.**

“Tonight, I think..” he said, shaking his head a little to keep his thoughts out of dangerous territory. He didn’t have the right to think like that. “So... we’ll just have to spend the day like this.” Smiling a little, he opened the bedroom door. “Still wanna watch a movie?”

**Will nodded a little and stood up. “That sounds good.” He said and searched for Dipper’s laptop. It was weird, being in someone else’s body, but it had its perks, like two eyes for example. He had gotten used to having little space perception by now, but it was like he was in a completely different world at the moment. Will found the laptop and returned to the bed. “Maybe we’ll be back to normal by the time Bill comes back. What has he been doing in the woods anyway?”**

Dipper came back over, careful not to bump into anything now that half his sight was cut off by an eyepatch. “Maybe, that would be nice. I don’t actually know- he goes in every day but won’t tell me what he’s doing.” Taking a seat, he settled into Will’s side so try could balance the laptop between them.

**“Maybe it’s a surprise for you,” Will said, smiling a little. That would be nice of Bill and it would definitely surprise Will since the other had never seemed to be the kind of person that would make good surprised for other people.**

Dipper chuckled a little, fiddling with one of the chain cuffs. “Maybe, that would certainly be one hell of a surprise. Anyway- what kind of movie do you want to watch?”

**“Anything, just no horror, please. Actually, nothing with blood, if possible?” That always brought back bad memories so he preferred to avoid anything with violence.**

“Alright, that’s a pretty easy thing to find,” he hummed, signing into Netflix to scroll through their options. “You know what sounds good? A kids movie. Some 2 hour animated joyride of happiness.” Eventually, he clicked on one.

**Will grinned and leaned against Dipper's side. "Perfect," he said and moved his attention from the other to the movie and trying to forget about the fact that Dipper right now looked like him. It was his Dipper, the same Dipper he had fallen in love with and this would be wonderful no matter what, even if they couldn't... do anything.**

Dipper shifted a little to get comfortable, careful tossing an arm around Will's shoulders. It was a little weird, in general, but he had no problem dealing with this. It wasn't the weirdest thing to happen to him and would not stop him from enjoying a couple blissful hours with the demon he loved but couldn't have.

**The movie was perfect, it was everything Will needed at the moment, it had a happy ending, the good characters all survived and ended up happy together, the bad guys were punished... All in all it was just what the demon needed to watch in that moment, when at times he felt like his life was going to fall apart again. When it was over, he pulled Dipper into a hug, burying his face in his neck. "Thank you, thank you for making me watch this," he told him and then he moved away again and glanced at the laptop. "Could we watch another one?" He asked and in that moment Stan Pines knocked on the door a couple of times and let them know he needed Dipper's help with something.**

Dipper turned slightly, hugging him back gently and keeping him close. He knew it had been a good choice, children’s movies always had the best endings, nothing ever really went wrong. They’d have to do this more often, Dipper felt better as well, and everyone needed some time where they could lose themselves in an escape with happy endings. “You don’t have to thank me... this was good,” he said quietly, letting him go and smiling a little. He was pretty much okay with looking at himself now, he’d adjusted. “Su-“ he paused, sighing. “Here... I’ll be right back, I recommended starting this one, alright?” Smiling, he climbed out of the bed and went to the door. “Yes, Grunkle Stan?” He asked, opening the door with a little smirk.

**Stan blinked a couple of times when he saw Will open the door and call him grunkle, but then he noticed that damned carpet was still in the room and sighed. "Well, it's your problem," he said and took Wi- Dipper's hand to drag him out of the room. "I need you to calm down the gnomes for me, they want me to start paying them if I give tours in the forest!" He explained as he dragged Dipper out of the shack.**

“It was an accident and we’re having issues switching back,” he said simply, stumbling a little as he followed Stan out. “So just pay the gnomes! They’ll take it in plastic gems, Stan,” he laughed, but let his uncle drag him back to the woods. 

**"Plastic gems still cost money!"**

**“Not as much as real money! Or gems!”**

 

Will was left alone, but Dipper had told him he would be back so he didn't see a reason to leave the room. He clicked on the movie Dipper had recommended and waited.

**Bill was finally done with his project and working on if had definitely helped him keep his conflicting emotions in check. Now he felt like maybe he would be able to talk to Dipper without ruining everything... But first, he would show him what he had been doing. The demon opened a rift and stepped through it to go straight to his and Dipper's room.**

Will was watching the movie in silence- Dipper had told him to start it, after all. And it was a few moments before he realized Bill was in the room. When he did, glancing up when he finally felt like he wasn’t alone, he jumped slightly, before pausing it. “Hi, Bill,” he said quickly, pulling his sleeves over his hands.

**Bill watched Dipper -or well, Will, but he couldn't tell it was the other, not yet-, wondering how long it would take him to realize he was no longer alone. "Damn kid, if it was anyone else you would be dead by now," he joked and climbed to the bed in all fours, moving the laptop out of the way so that he could straddle the other and kiss him softly.**

It took two whole seconds for Will to go into a panic once he had been kissed, shoving Bill away and floundering out of the bed. “No wait don’t do that I’m not Dipper!” He explained in a rush, scrambling back, away from the bed.

**Bill almost fell from the bed when the other pushed him because he hadn't been ready for something like that. What was going on? "What?" He asked the other, giving him a really confused and slightly annoyed look. "The hell are you talking about, sapling?"**

“I’m Will!” He said quickly. “We were going to watch a movie so we touched while on the carpet and switched bodies so he’s in mine and he just went out into the woods with Stan to deal with gnomes and I’m waiting for him to come back,” he explained, all in one breath, before standing slowly. “He- he doesn’t know h-how to f-fix it so we’re w-waiting for Mabel to come b-back and see if she r-remembers.”

**Once Will explained the demon tried to see past the meatsack and found that indeed he had Will in front of him. Great, just when things had seemed like they couldn't get more complicated. "Alright, alright," Bill took a deep breath and looked away, refusing to get angry. "I thought you two spent your time doing research..."**

“We... we normally do,” he said slowly, carefully. He didn’t move any closer, wanting as much space between him and Bill as possible.. just in case. Though he doubted Bill would do anything, if for no other reason than he wouldn’t want to risk Dipper’s body. “But he was... having a bad morning, so.. so we thought taking a break for a few hours would be good. So we watched a kids movie.”

**Bill forced a smile and his hands closed in fists. It was fine, he didn't have the right to get angry... "Oh, so what? The only one that didn't know Dipper was apparently miserable was me?" He asked, his tone raising a little. "Great, perfect, of course, because why would I need to know, right? I'm just the bad demon, his boyfriend," Bill said and looked away from Will as his hands were engulfed by blue fire.**

“He wasn’t miserable!” He said instantly, voice shaking. Will wouldn’t be able to protect himself if Bill lashed out, not even a little. He could handle a lot, but not like this. In this body. And it was obvious by the anxiety clear in his face and the fear in his voice. “He was just having a bad morning, one of the ones where he couldn’t convince himself that he needed to get out of bed because it didn’t seem important,” he tried to explain, backing up until he bumped into the wall.

**"Well, that definitely sounds like he isn't exactly having a good time," Bill said and finally looked back at the other. He noticed how scared Will looked and gulped. He didn't like seeing him like that and even less so when he was wearing Dipper's face. The demon looked down at his hands and took a deep breath, trying to relax. The fire went away and Bill climbed down from the bed. "I won't hurt you," he reassured Will and took a step closer to him.**

Will looked away slightly. “Not every day is a good day,” he said simply, trembling faintly as he tried to not think about his own past, his own bad memories. His own reasons for understanding why sometimes the darkness was too strong, the weight on someone’s shoulders too heavy, the energy needed too far out of reach, to get anything like that done. Glancing back at Bill, he nodded, taking a deep breath and calming down as well. “Okay,” he agreed softly.

**BIll tried to smile a little bit, this time for real. "I... I know not everyday is a good day, but Dipper's been hiding his true feelings from me apparently and I-" Bill shook his head and rubbed his eyes. There was no point in talking about this with someone that wasn't Dipper and definitely not with Will**

Will smiled back, heart rate lowering a little more now that it was more clear Bill was trying to be calm about things. Wincing a little, he nodded, feeling like he knew exactly what Bill was talking about. “Yeah, but..” Stopping quickly, he let out a soft sigh. ”I guess the only one who knows that is Dipper.”

**Bill narrowed his eyes a little at Will and then sighed and shook his head. He knew that was a lie, but this he wanted to hear from Dipper himself, not Will. "You said he was in the woods?"**

Will nodded quickly. “Yeah, he’s helping Stan with the gnomes. They.. want to be paid? For allowing tours or something.”

**Bill rolled his eyes a little. He could take care of that in a second. "Perfect, well..." Bill opened another rift and then glanced at the other demon. It was so weird... He was in Dipper's body but now that he was paying attention he could tell they were a completely different person, they held themselves differently. "We might see each other later," he finished and then stepped through the rift and appeared where Dipper was.**

Will nodded, waving a little. “Bye,” he said softly, watching him leave before settling down completely, going back to the movie to keep himself steady. 

 

Dipper groaned softly, a hand pressed to his forehead as he watched Stan bicker with several gnomes. They had argued almost all the way here about why Stan wouldn’t just do it, and even now, nothing he was saying seemed to matter to anyone. “Guys, come on, this is ridiculous.”

“No! This is our forest too, and we have right!” A gnome yelled.

**Bill walked up to Dipper from behind, watched the scene for a few seconds and then shifted into his triangle self, made himself bigger and turned red to intimidate the gnomes. "YOU'LL LET STAN PINES DO WHATEVER HE WANTS IN MY WOODS AND YOU WON'T GET IN HIS WAY!" He yelled at the creatures, who seemed to freeze in fear as soon as they saw him. Once he was done delivering his message he added a simple 'leave' and all the gnomes ran away. Only once they were out of sight he turned back to his human form and faced the other two. "There, now I'm going to have to steal my boyfriend for a little while."**

Dipper froze for a moment as the voice that used to fuel his nightmares boomed overhead. It was only for a few seconds, though, before he was relaxing and calm and just barely fighting back laughter, waiting for the gnomes to leave. Once they did, he lost the fight completely, dissolving into giggles and loud laughter as he turned to face Bill, throwing his arms around his neck. “That was amazing, thank you! See you later, Stan,” he hummed, still giggling a little.

**Stan was left speechless and by the time he could find the words to thank the demon, the couple was gone. Oh well, he would have to thank him later.**

 

**“So...”Bill glanced at the other. It was sooooo weird that he was in Will’s body... then again, it wouldn’t have been the first time he had felt attracted to it. “I wanted to show you something special... but it has come to my attention that maybe we need to talk.**

Dipper paused, finding himself fiddling with the small bit of chain on one of the cuffs. A nervous habit that room no time for him to start once it was there. “... Alright. What are we talking about?” He asked carefully.

**“Sixer told me you weren’t happy,” Bill said and leaned against a tree, arms crossed over his chest. He couldn’t look at Dipper in the eye. “I obviously haven’t noticed, why have you been keeping that from me, sapling?”**

Dipper’s shoulders slumped slightly, and he shook his head slowly. “I’m happy,” he said, voice quiet and eyes lowered. “I am. You do make me happy, Bill."

**Bill clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. In his mind, he counted to ten. "Do you really expect me to believe that when you say it like that?" The demon sighed, opened his eyes and finally looked up at Dipper. Despite his appearance he could still see his boyfriend there and it really hurt him that he obviously wasn't telling him the whole story.**

He was quiet for a few minutes before sighing again, and deciding that he couldn't do this anymore. "What do you want from me?" He asked slowly, looking up at Bill, sliding his hands in his pockets. "I'm doing my best here. There's a reason all the nightmares you've had to stop lately have been about me being ripped or pulled apart! You make me happy, swear to god, but I am also trying to kill part of my soul to make this work."

**"I don't want you to suffer like this! Why didn't you say anything?" Bill asked, taking a step closer to the other man and giving him a sad and worried look. "I- I don't know what to do about this, I... What do you want from me, Mason?" He wanted him to share him with Will? It.... It definitely wouldn't be easy but if that would be the only thing that made him happy he could try, somehow.**

“I don’t know! I.. I can’t ask you for what I want because I don’t want you thinking that I’m trying to change you or that I don’t love you or some other bullshit you’ll come up with!” He looked away, curling his hands into fists. “You gave me a choice, and I picked the one I could live with. Because not being with Will is one thing. But I never would have seen you again, you would have completely cut yourself out of my life and that was never something I could handle.”

**"I just... I thought...." Bill had thought that if Dipper loved Will he couldn't love him, it had never crossed his mind that the feelings he had for one and the other weren't mutually exclusive. "You know how I am, I'm selfish, I get jealous way too easily, I just... I was afraid that you loving him would mean you were over me." He was still afraid of it, he was afraid that Dipper would eventually realize Will was the one he truly wanted because he was good and didn't like violence and didn't hurt those he cared about... Bill had never opened up to others because they had always found someone they liked better, same thing had happened with Will, it was one of the reasons why he had decided to get away from the blue demon.**

Dipper shook his head, finally breaking and closing the distance between them. Shaking hands curled into his shirt and held him close, refusing to let him get any farther away. “I know. I know you are, and I like that about you! I like that I know I’ll never have to worry about being replaced or just waking up and having you be gone. I like the possessiveness, it makes me feel safe,” he explained, watching Bill’s face. “I love Will for different reasons. I love you both, sometimes so much I can’t breathe around it and my body aches from the effort of keeping it all locked inside me. And I’m trying, I’m trying really hard not to let that get to me and not ruin what we have but it’s hard, and I have bad days and sometimes it hurts. But I’m doing my best, Bill, isn’t that enough for you?” Slowly, he dropped his hands, sniffling softly as he looked away and took a step back.

**Bill gulped and then grabbed Dipper by that horrible sweater that Will seemed to be so fond of -and Bill wouldn't admit it made him look adorable- and kissed him, hard, putting all he had into it. He loved this stupid human too much to even think about leaving him, he had only suggested that in the past because he had thought the other wouldn't be with him like this if he chose Will. Maybe it could be different though, maybe he could share a little bit, Dipper and Will were the only people in the universes that Bill had ever considered family anyway so it shouldn't be too hard and maybe... Maybe... No, no, he had known back then that Will didn't feel like that for him. If anything Will could like him like one loved a big brother that got you out of trouble, right?**

Dipper gasped softly, before sliding his arms up to wrap around Bill, holding him close and kissing him back firmly. Tears were on his cheek, he was shaking slightly, but he threw everything into the kiss, the heartache, and love. He wasn’t sure what this meant, what was going to happen next, but this was a good start.

**When Bill pulled away he cupped his boyfriend's cheek with one hand and wiped away the tears. "I'll try my best, it should be easier with Will," he told him and kissed the tip of his nose. "I... Sapling, I... I love you," he finally brought himself to say. "I want you to be happy, I don't want you to feel like part of your soul is dying."**

He leaned into the touch, blue strands falling into his face as he nuzzled against his palm slightly. His breathing stuttered, stopping for a moment, as he slowly looked back up at Bill. Was.. was that a.. Oh.. "I love you, too," he murmured, brushing his fingers over the back of his neck gently. "It's not all the time," he said without even thinking, wanting to reassure- he quickly paused, thought. "Does that.. are you... what are you saying?" He asked carefully, not wanting to make any assumptions, base anything off context clues. Bill had to say it, out loud.

**"I can try and share you... It'll be like sharing with myself in a way," he laughed a little and pulled the other into a hug. "It's weird that we're the same height now," he commented and chuckled, then pulled away a little, to look into the other's eye, but he kept his arms around him. "I also don't really like seeing Will unhappy..." He looked away and sighed. That had also been one of the reasons why he had been avoiding the other.**

A soft gasp, before he hugged him back tightly, resting his head against his shoulder gently. "Thank you," he whispered, swallowing thickly before laughing a little. "Yeah, it is. We're going to have to figure this out pretty soon," he hummed softly, nuzzling against his neck a little. Stepping back a little, he smiled slowly, nodding. "It's the worst, really," he agreed, laughing a little.

**"It is, it frustrates me a little and I know I only make it worse like that but..." The demon sighed and kissed Dipper again, this time just a peck on the lips. "Now, I still have a surprise, if you want it..." he reminded the other and took his hand to guide him deeper into the forest.**

"Yeah... You two are just a little two different for things to always work out the way you want it to," he hummed, returning the little kiss before smiling brightly. "Yeah, I'd love to see it!" He agreed, squeezing his hand gently before following him farther into the woods.

**Bill stopped when they reached a cave at the foot of the mountain. It had a door now and soft light could be seen coming though the small circular window in it. The demon made a key out of thin air and handed it to his boyfriend with a little smile. "I know Ford doesn't really like me being in the shack, even if I make you happy, so I thought maybe we could get our own place. Of course, now I'm not all that sure, but I still wanted to show you, I would have built a cabin, but I liked the idea of turning a cave into one, I thought it was original," Lord, he was rambling, he never did that.**

Dipper took the key, eye wide as he looked at the cave, with its little door- it already had a homey feel and he wasn't even inside yet. Smiling slowly as he listened to Bill ramble on- and it was so adorable, actually, but he still turned to kiss him gently, cutting him off. "It sounds like a great idea," he murmured against his lips, before pulling away to unlock and open the door.

**Bill had made it so that the walls still showed that they were inside a cave, but he had made sure the rock wouldn't fall apart and get dust everywhere. He had created a living room, a kitchen and a bedroom that was separated from the rest of the rooms by a large library filled with books that he felt Dipper would like to have. Some were from this dimension, some were from others and he had used a lot of energy to open small portals to pull them through. The only room that was completely separated from the others was the bathroom, which was in an area were there was a natural hot spring.**

"Wow..." he breathed softly, wandering into the room and slowly looking around. "This... this is amazing, Bill! No wonder you've been in the woods for so long lately." Heading farther in, he briefly explored the living room and kitchen before ducking into the library and immediately becoming sidetracked by all the books.

**Well, of course, it would have taken him a lot longer if he had been human or hadn't had his powers but yes, he had been spending an awful lot of time in the woods. "The thing that took me the longest was getting some of those books," the demon explained, walking closer to his boyfriend and wrapping his arms around him from behind. "But I knew you'd like them so I had to get them."**

He leaned back into his chest, resting his hands on Bill's arms and smiling brightly as he looked around. "Thanks, Bill," he whispered. "It means a lot that you did all this for me- for us," he continued, still in the same soft voice. "I really love you, Bill."

**Bill smiled and kissed Dipper's cheek. "I love you too, Mason." He murmured in his ear, the words a little easier to say now. He just wasn't sure about what they would do now that Will would be sort of in the picture... He had hoped Dipper would move in here with him, but...**

Dipper shivered a little, turned to slide his arm around Bill's neck and hold him close. Ideas were flickering through his mind about what he was going to do now- Will was in the picture now, even if the blue demon didn't know it yet, and Bill had built the pair of them a house. "Is this a... 'move in with me' kind of house?" he asked, pecking the demon on the mouth lightly.

**The demon bit his lip and looked away. "It was meant to be, but I can move in here alone and you can visit, we're close to the shack anyway so there wouldn't be a problem... I simply don't want to work there anymore now that I don't need to and that  was sort of paying my stay there and then there's Ford's issues with me..." The demon sighed and let go of Dipper. "I just felt it would be for the best if I left the Mystery Shack."**

Dipper kissed his cheek gently. "I can split my time between the two," he assured soothingly, sliding his hands down Bill's shoulders, his arms, to take his hands and squeeze gently. "If you no longer want to be at the Mystery Shack, you don't have to be. I can partially move in here, maybe split it up over days. Like.. three days here and three days there or something- when I'm not working, that is." He paused, before smiling gently. "I'll figure something out, you aren't going to be alone out here."

**The blond smiled a little and nodded. "Alright, I guess that sounds good," he sighed and turned Dipper around to face him. "It also might be easier to convince Ford to give us his equation if you don't move in with me if he doesn't see you often he might start thinking I brainwashed you or something," the demon rolled his eyes.**

Dipper leaned up to kiss his forehead softly. "Yeah. Him seeing me with Will should help with that, too. I really want to get it for you, though. We have dimensions to visit and people to.. meet." He grinned slowly.

**"We do have people to meet, don't we?" The demon grinned wickedly and backed Dipper up against the library. "But we can discuss that later," he added as he ran the back of his fingers down Dipper's cheek. "Do you think Will would mind if we..." The yellow demon licked his lips and devoured the other with his eyes.**

Dipper flushed as he was backed up, breath picking up speed and his knees going weak, just from the look in Bill's eyes and the touch to his cheek. "I... I think he would," he managed, resolve crumbling. "I would mind if he used my body like that," he added, even as he curled his hands into Bill's shirt. "Maybe... maybe we should... w-wait," he mumbled. He didn't like the idea, clearly wanting Bill just as much as the demon currently wanted him, but it seemed like breaking Will's trust.

**"He doesn't need to find out..." Damn, he wanted Dipper and he wanted this body, he wanted to have it at least once, get that out of his system... But even as he said those words he thought that he couldn't do something like that to Will, it was still his body. "Or you could ask him?" Then again, that would break the mood, wouldn't it? Bill shook his head. "How long will you stay like this?"**

"That isn't fair.. and you'd have to be really gentle, I don't want that," he mumbled, shaking his head slowly and forcing himself to push Bill away slightly. He was flushed and a little squirmy, but managed somehow to get the space he needed to keep his hands to himself. "Not too much longer. Mabel should be home soon and hopefully, she either remembers or scrapbooked about it."

**"Oh," Bill said, hoping he didn't sound too disappointed. Dipper didn't need to know, he would find it weird, Will was another version of him, a lot of people would find it weird or maybe too narcissistic for their liking. “Well, I guess I can keep my hands to myself for a few more hours…” But now he kind of didn't want to get rid of that carpet, he felt like someday it could become useful.**

Dipper paused, slowly looking Bill over. That, oh, that sounded... off. And he had really been pushing for them to have sex while Dipper was stuck in Will's body. Could it be that... He inched a little closer, arching an eyebrow slowly, and took Bill's hand. "Is there something you're not telling me, Bill?" He cooed softly.

**Bill raised an eyebrow, pretending not to know what the other was talking about. "Not really, why?" He asked and guided Dipper towards the kitchen. "Do you want some tea? I got the best kind I could find in Gravity Falls." And by that he meant he stole it, of course.**

“Oh, just that you seem to be pushing the idea of fucking me while I look like Will pretty hard,” he commented casually, heading into the kitchen with a grin. “Tea sounds really good, actually. I like Vanilla Chai.”

**Bill rolled his eyes. "I just want to fuck you, it has nothing to do with your looks," he told the other and snapped his fingers to put some water to boil as he grabbed two mugs and put the tea bags in them.**

Dipper just smiled, pushing his hair out of his face. “Sure, Bill. Whatever you say,” he cooed softly, taking a seat to wait.

**Bill shook his head and sighed, looking away from his boyfriend. He didn't say anything else and once the coffee was ready he handed Dipper his mug and sat down on one of the chairs with his own.**

Dipper smiled a little, taking a slow sip of his tea and sighing happily. “This is really good “ he hummed, before pausing. Oh...“.. I was just teasing, Bill,” he said gently, leaning forward slightly.

**"It's okay, sapling," he reassured the other and offered him a smile before taking a sip of his tea. "Will you spend the night here tonight? Or would you rather we spent one last night together at the shack? I know we just moved to a new room and moving again might be a little overwhelming."**

“Maybe back in the Shack,” he hummed. “One more night in our room. I could talk to Will after we switch back,” he mused.

**"He'll be happy, won't he?" Bill mentioned, smiling a little. He still didn't feel all that comfortable with their arrangement, but he had the feeling it wouldn't take him long to get used to it.**

Dipper nodded, grinning. “Yeah, he will be.” After a moment, he paused. “I mean... I hope he will be..” there was always a chance that this had caused to much pain for Will to ever accept him back.

**"Do you want me to be around when you tell him?" The demon asked and took another long sip of the tea. That he was sharing Dipper didn't mean Dipper or Will would want to share their relationship with him, so he had to ask that kind of things.**

Dipper set his cup down while he thought about it. ”I think... for the first talk, I’d like to be alone. Anything after that you can be around, I just think things will go better if it’s just us,” he said slowly.

**Bill smiled a little and lowered his gaze. "Of course." He understood that, but he would definitely like being more involved in the future, partly because of his fear of Dipper eventually leaving him, feeling like he didn't need him anymore, and because he wanted to try and fix the complicated relationship he had with Will.**

“I’m already planning our first group date,” he hummed, grinning. “The lake is finally frozen- we’re going ice skating. If that’s okay with you, of course. We can do something else if you don’t want to do that.” He understood Bill’s concerns, now that they were out in the open, and was determined to make him see that he was just as welcome. That Bill wasn’t being replaced by any means.

**The demon smiled fondly at his boyfriend, his eyes filled with emotion. He loved him so much, he obviously was trying to make his insecurities go away. "That would be great, sapling," he told him and reached for his hand to squeeze it a little. "But only if Will wants as well, you don't need to force a group date."**

Dipper nodded, squeezing back gently. “Right, of course,” he hummed, smiling softly. “But I think he’ll be okay with it.”

**"In that case, I'll be happy to join you." Bill leaned forward and kissed Dipper's cheek, then went back to his coffee.**

Dipper kissed him back lightly, returning to his tea.

 

**Will finished watching the second movie and turned off Dipper's laptop. He was feeling a little bit down now because Dipper had told him he would come back but he hadn't and since Bill had gone out looking for him he assumed they were together. The blue demon tossed and turned on the couple's bed for a while before deciding to go for a walk in the woods in an attempt to distract his mind.**

Dipper stayed for a while longer before deciding he needed to head home- Mabel should have finally gotten back and he wanted his own body back, thanks. Kissing Bill one more time with a promise to call him once the conversation was over, he pocketed the key and headed out of the safe little home that he already loved. Heading out into the woods, whistling fairly loudly as a warning to any animals or creatures he was getting close to.

**Will heard the whistle and assumed it was either Bill or Dipper to he walked in the direction of that sound. When he spotted his blue hair he smiled and waved at the other. "Dipper!" He called him as he practically ran towards him, not paying too much attention to where he was placing his feet, which made him trip with a loose root.**

Dipper smiled instantly once he heard his own voice call out his name, turning his attention to Will. “Will!” He called back, heading towards him. Breaking into a slight run when he saw the other go down, he crouched next to Will. “Shit, are you okay?” He asked softly, reaching out to help him up and untangle the root from his ankle.

**Will let out a nervous laugh and nodded. Luckily he hadn't hit his face. "I'm okay, sorry I might have hurt your body a little." Once he was free from the root he stood up with Dipper's help and brushed the dirt of his jeans. "Bill was looking for you, did he find you?"**

“It’s fine, I’ve had worse.” Dipper nodded, helping him up and keeping a hand pressed against his back. Slowly, he smiled. “Yeah, he did. We had a pretty long talk- but I kinda wanna switch back before I tell you about it. Shall we head back?”

**Will nodded. "I'd like to switch back too, I wouldn't like more misunderstandings..." Will said and blushed a little, thinking back to the kiss Bill had given him because he had thought he was Dipper. If the other had known the truth and had kissed him anyway, maybe he wouldn't have minded that much, but he didn't like to be kissed by someone who didn't know who he was truly kissing or that refused to acknowledge it. Ford had forced him to take the form of a woman once, he had been drunk and clearly frustrated after a failed date... It hadn't been nice.**

“Yeah, exactly,” he hummed, keeping his hand in its place as he led the way out of the woods, back towards the Shack. That, and also, he wanted to see the look on Will’s face when he told him the news, wanted to be able to kiss him again. Soon enough, they were breaking free of the woods, heading up to the Mystery Shack once more.

**"Hey, Dip-dop!" Mabel greeted Dipper and Will when she saw them approach the shack. She had been waiting for them by the door, having heard from Stan what had happened. "You really can't remember how to turn back? It was so easy!" She laughed and shook her head in amusement.**

Dipper shrugged a little, laughing along. “Sorry, Mabel, I just don’t have the memory you do. Care to give me a hint? I know we need to be back on the carpet for it to work,” he added, still grinning as he headed for the bedroom.

**Mabel nodded and walked into the house, Will following her. "You need to rub your feet against the carpet to create static and then you just touch the other person," she reminded Dipper. "You can moonwalk if you! Make it more fun!"**

Dipper shook his head. “God, how could I have forgotten that!” He chuckled softly, throwing open the door to the room and shuffling across the floor to generate the static.

**Will watched Dipper and after a moment he did the same, generating static himself, so much that his hair started floating, uncovering the birthmark that Dipper usually kept hidden.**

Dipper came over once he was satisfied, dragging his feet the entire time to keep up the charge. Smiling brightly, he reached out to take Will’s hand. Sucking in a breath, he nearly dropped to the ground as they switched back.

**Will felt the rush of electricity go through his body once again and this time he had enough time to lean against a wall and not fall to the ground. When he opened his eyes -eye- again, he was glad to find he was back in his body. Even though not being in chains and having two eyes had been nice, Will preferred to stay in his own body -he had never been a fan of possessing people either.**

**"See! Easy, right?" Mabel grinned at the two guys and then waved at them. "Well, guess I'll see you for dinner?"**

Dipper laughed, waving back. “Yeah, I’ll see you then.” Walking her out of the room, he shut the door firmly, turning to face the demon and running his fingers through his hair. Much better. He felt so much better like this. “Hey, Will, wanna take a seat on the bed? I’ve got some things to tell you,” he said, voice light and gentle and really very happy.

**"Oh, of course," Will said, smiling a little, curiosity clear on his features. He wondered what Dipper wanted to talk about. It had to be something good, right? The blue-haired demon sat down and waited for the other to start talking.**

Dipper took a seat next to Will, folding his legs under him and smiling again. “So I talked to Bill,” he started. “About me, and him, and you. And how I feel. And he... is willing to let us,” he pointed between them, brushing his fingers against Will’s leg, “try too. At the same time. Does that make sense?”

**"I..." Will felt he understood, but he wanted to be sure, not jump into conclusions so he said: "Could you... explain it a little more? Let us what?" Bill didn't share, how had Dipper convinced him to let him date the two of them? No, no, he had to be assuming the wrong thing.**

Dipper shifted to his knees, leaning closer. “Bill’s letting me date both of you,” he said softly, smirking a little before kissing his cheek.

**Will smiled widely and his eyes watered with tears of happiness. He couldn't believe Dipper's words. "But... H-how? He doesn't..." The Bill he knew didn't share and he had come to terms with that.**

“He wants me to be happy. Whatever that takes. As long as this doesn’t mean I’m replacing him, and I split my time evenly..” he grinned, cupping his cheek. “Can I kiss you? Would that be okay?”

**Will blushed a deep shade of red and nodded enthusiastically. "Please," he would need to thank Bill, find something the demon would want and get it for him. Bill always did a lot for him, he had helped him so much in the past and now he was giving him this, which he was sure wasn't easy for him.**

He owed Bill. He owed him a lot, for letting him have this. Dipper tipped his head up, leaning forward and kissing him, slow and sure and very thoroughly. Finally, he pulled back, blushing faintly and smirking a little. “How was that?”

**"Perfect," Will said and then leaned forward to kiss Dipper again. They had to make up for lost time and the demon wanted to try new things, if he was allowed, he still wanted to go slow, but he definitely wanted to try other things.**

Dipper kissed him back, slowly resting a hand on his hip and gently biting into his lower lip. It was hard to remember to be slow when he wanted Will as much as he did, but he was trying a little bit.

**When Dipper bit him the blue demon pulled away and looked down at his lap, feeling ashamed of himself for doing so. Maybe if someone else had done it he wouldn't have minded that much, but Dipper still wore Mason's face, so that kind of thing was hard to accept. "S-sorry," he mumbled.**

Dipper pulled back quickly, letting out a slow breath and gently rubbing his thumb against his cheek. “No, no, I’m sorry,” he said gently. “I know you need to go slow, it’s okay that you have limits,” he continued.

**"Just, n-not biting, please?" From Dipper, he wasn't sure he would be able to handle more than a gentle touch and he knew the other would understand that, so it was fine.**

Dipper nodded, kissing his shoulder gently. “I won’t. And I don’t know how far you want to go, but if you want to stop, just say, okay? No judgement. No questions.” Moving closer, he carefully kissed his neck.

**Will nodded a little and when the other started kissing his neck he let out a tiny gasp. That was nice, it was the first time Dipper allowed himself to do anything other than kiss him on the cheek or gently on the lips and the demon really liked it.**

**_Did you tell him?_ ** **Bill asked Dipper in his mind once some reasonable time had passed.**

Dipper smiled a little at the gasp, continuing to gently press kisses up and down his neck. Steady, slow kisses that were soft and soothing.

_ Yes, _ he responded, not paying that much attention to the conversation.

**The demon leaned back, resting against the headboard and giving the other more space to work with. He wasn't sure how far he would let things go this time, but so far he was enjoying it a great deal.**

**_Great!_ ** **Bill said, grinning.** **_Should I make my way there then?_ ** **He asked, already making his hand shift a little to be able to open a rift.**

Dipper slid the collar of his shirt down to continue kissing down his shoulder. He just wanted to make the demon feel good, have some pleasure after the few weeks they’d had. 

_ Ummm.....  _ he hesitated.  _ Few more minutes. _

**The blue-haired demon gasped a little again and grabbed one of Dipper's hands to guide it under his sweater and shift, letting him know he was allowed to touch if he wanted to.**

**_Oh._ ** **Bill smirked and closed his eyes.** **_Would it be rude if I watched?_ **

Dipper slowly slid his hand under his shirt, gently dragging his fingers along his stomach. Slowly, he inched his way up his chest, pushing his shirt up farther. Slowly, he licked up Will’s neck. 

_ I don’t mind in the slightest, _ he responded slyly.

**Will gasped a little and gripped the sheets with one of his hands, the other getting tangled in Dipper's dark brown curls. He knew this was nothing, but nobody had ever been so gentle with him, so patient and Dipper's touch... It made his body react visibly, even if it was the most innocent kind of touch -well, not so innocent anymore, that was for sure.**

**Bill was surprised by Dipper's answer but he wouldn't question it, he did want to watch after all.** **_Lovely,_ ** **he replied before tapping into the eye he had left next to the bed a few days ago.**

Dipper smiled a little, continuing to gently drag just the fingertips up and down his stomach. So far, he hadn’t gone much farther than that. Leaning up slightly, he pressed a kiss behind his ear before licking up the shell of his ear. “Can I take your shirts off?” He whispered, breath hot against his ear.

**Will thought about it for a moment. "O-okay," he mumbled and moved away from the headboard so that the other could take them off. He could go a little further, he felt ready, he wanted more of Dipper's touch, just sit back and relax and let the other explore every inch of his skin.**

Dipper smiled a little, sitting back so he could carefully pull the sweatshirt and the shirt over his head. “You’re very lovely, Will,” he murmured, lightly dragging his fingers up his stomach. Pausing, he brushed a fingertip against his nipple.

**The demon let out a soft moan and moved a bit so that he was laying in the bed completely, at Dipper's mercy. "T-thank you, Dipper," he said and smiled, waiting patiently for the other to continue.**

**Everything was going a bit slow for Bill's liking, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy it, he liked seeing his usually submissive boyfriend take control.**

Dipper grinned a little, leaning down to kiss his way down Will’s throat, over his chest. “Remember that you can tell me to stop,” he reminded, before pinching his nipple lightly, rolling it between his fingers. 

_ We might not get to sex tonight, _ he mentioned.  _ He needs slow or he’ll panic. _

**"Ngh..." Will gasped and then nodded a bit. "I-I know," he reassured the other. "B-but keep going, please."**

**Bill huffed a laugh and laid down on his new bed.** **_I thought you had forgotten about me here..._ ** **he mentioned, putting his arms over his head to use them as a pillow.** **_He looks ready enough to me though._ **

Dipper grinned, doing the same with the other one so he pinched them both at the same time. 

_ Never, enjoying the show?  _ he teased lightly.  _ He does— guess we’ll just have to see. _

**The blue-haired demon moaned and arched a little into the touch. Will had gotten used to inhabiting a human form, he had grown to like some of what came with it, like eating, for example, but feeling pleasure like this? It made it a lot better.**

**The demon grinned. He kinda wished he could join in... But Will wouldn't like that and Dipper would think it was weird.** **_Definitely, I love seeing this side of you..._ ** **And that side of Will as well, if he was honest with himself.**

Dipper smiled a little, watching him- god, he was just beautiful, all flushed and moaning under him. Lowering his head, he took a nipple in his mouth, licking at the sensitive bud and sucking gently. Keeping his teeth well away. 

_ Good to know, _ he answered. That didn’t feel like all of that, but he wasn’t going to push.

**"Oh, Dipper..." The blue demon moaned and moved a hand to his crotch, pressing down a little in desperate need for friction. It had been a long time since his body had last reacted like that and when it had he had never felt relief, so this was completely a whole new experience for Will.**

**Bill noticed Will started to touch himself and grinned.** **_Well, he's definitely ready for something, pay more attention, kid._ **

Dipper hummed softly, pulling away slowly so he could lick his way across his chest and do the same for the other. Steadily, he brushed his hand down his stomach, before resting over Will’s hand and pulling off again. “Need a hand, Will?” He murmured. 

_ I’ve got it, don’t you worry. _

**Will blushed harder than he already was and gave a small, shy nod. "Please?" He could go that far, he didn't think he could go farther than that, not for now, but he definitely wanted Dipper to help him with his problem.**

**_You're such a good boyfriend, sapling,_ ** **Bill said as he slid his hand into his pants. Bill had never done something like this, this kind of pleasure he usually only enjoyed with Dipper around, making the other feel good made it worth the trouble, but now he found himself unable to stop as he wrapped his fingers around his erect cock and stroked himself slowly.**

Dipper smiled soothingly, easily sliding down so he could hook his fingers in the waistband of his pants and underwear and pull them down slowly. Smirking a little, he gently nuzzled against Will’s hip, tracing his fingers against the inside of his thigh. Not quite touching him, not yet. 

_ Aww, thanks. I do my best. _

**Will's body twitched in anticipation but he tried to stay as still as he could, afraid the other would stop if he moved.**

**_You're also a big tease._ **

“You’re allowed to move, you know,” he murmured, looking up at Will and slowly wrapping a hand around his cock, stroking once. 

_ You knew that already. _

**Will let out a soft whine and closed his eyes, his hips jerking a little at the contact. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to last long.**

**Back in the cave, Bill was trying to go as slow with himself as Dipper was going with Will, but he could tell it wouldn’t take too much to make Will come and he wanted to find his release at the same time, so he ended up speeding up his pace a little.**

Dipper smiled a little, slowly starting to stroke him at a steady pace. “Look at you,” he praised lightly. “Simply gorgeous...” Humming softly, he swiped his thumb against the tip.

**Will let out a loud moan and a big drop of precum poured from his cock, making it easier for Dipper to stroke him. “Yes, oh- f-fuck, Dipper.” Will, contrary to Bill, was a pretty vocal guy, he was simply trying to keep his moans down, thinking about the others in the shack.**

**“Fuck!” Oh, how he wished to be there...** **_If I was there, sapling if I was there right now…_ ** **he told his boyfriend as he stroked himself.** **_I’d be pressed against your back, fucking you from behind so hard... Would you like that?_ **

Dipper smirked slowly, tightening his hand just a little as he stroked a little faster, continuing to rub his thumb along the tip every few strokes. “That’s it, Will. You’re doing so well for me,” he continued to praise. 

The slightest shiver ran through him.  _ Fuck... yes, Bill, I’d love it so much. _

**Wil started moaning a little louder and gripped the sheets with both hands, undoing the pretty well-made bed. He hoped neither Dipper not Bill would mind.**

**_Look at you, praising him and everything... You’re doing so good, P-_ ** **Bill was able to stop himself from ruining it the moment just in time...** **_sapling._ **

“That’s right, Will, just like that... such a good job..” Dipper leaned down to kiss him firmly, using the fact that he was moaning so much to slip his tongue past his lips, brush against the roof of Will’s mouth while he stroked. 

_ Everyone likes praise sometimes. _ He short-circuited for a second at the praise.  _ Oh.. thank you. _

**Will moaned into the kiss andáis hips jerked a little when he came, painting Dipper’s hand and his stomach with white**

**Bill stroked himself a little faster when the other came, the sight of it getting him a lot closer to the edge. It took a few more strokes and he was coming too, making a mess of his suit. That had been beautiful, Bill would have loved it to last longer, but it had been beautiful nonetheless.**

Dipper continued to stroke him through his orgasm, breaking the kiss with a small smile. “So good, Will,” he praised again, licking the cum off his hand. “You did such a good job for me. So beautiful like this.”

**Will opened his eye and smiled shyly at Dipper, his face red since the praises made him feel a little embarrassed and self-conscious, he didn’t think he deserved them, he had done nothing... But he loved them anyway. “D-do I n-need to do s-something for you?” He asked the human, voice still shaky from his orgasm.**

Dipper kissed his forehead gently, running his hand over Will’s side to help steady him. Adorable- he was adorable, red-faced and shy after that display. “You don’t have to,” he assured soothingly. “You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with or don’t feel ready for. I’ll be fine.” He was achingly hard, but it wasn’t that big of a deal, he could deal with it later. With Bill.

**“A-alright,” the demon kissed Dipper’s cheek and settled down once again. He didn’t think he was ready to give Dipper something back, he actually had a choice about that now, he wasn’t forced to pleasure the other, but this had been enough for one day. “Thank you, Dipper.”**

**_Alright, now should I make my way there, sapling?_ ** **Bill asked once he had made himself presentable once again.**

Dipper smiled a little, cleaning Will up gently and kissing his forehead again. “No thanks needed,” he assured, carefully fixing Will’s pants again and letting him decide on whether or not his shirt went on. Laying down next to him, he just smiled a little, playing with the demon’s hair. 

_ Yeah, I suppose you could come by now, _ he agreed.

**Will put his shirt back on and then he snuggled as close to Dipper as was possible, curling up against his chest. Today had been the perfect day.**

**Bill grinned and opened a rift that led straight to his and Dipper’s room in the shack. “Adorable,” he said once he stepped through it and saw his boyfriend and the other demon.**

Dipper wrapped his arms around Will, nuzzling against his hair gently and keeping him there. This was good, perfect. The best day of his life so far. 

Looking up, he smiled a little, keeping his arms around Will so the demon wouldn’t panic and leave. _Bill- you should come join us,_ he murmured.

**The blond smirked and snapped his fingers to change into something more appropriate for bed and then he climbed into it and wrapped his arms around his wonderful human, acting like the big spoon so that Dipper was sandwiched between him and Will. “I’m kind of wondering what you’ve been up to...” He said teasingly, one hand moving down Dipper’s chest and stopping short of his crotch. He knew his boyfriend was still hard, but maybe doing this in front of Will wouldn’t be a good idea.**

Dipper shivered happily, practically purring as Bill slid up against his back. He absolutely loved the feeling of being pressed between the demons, safe and warm and a little bit protected. Especially since the demons were just the right amount of taller than him. “I’ll tell you all about it later,” he teased lightly, breath catching and hips twitching slightly. He couldn’t do this now, couldn’t push for it, and while he loved his position it certainly wasn’t helping his arousal.

**“I-I could leave...” Will suggested, feeling bad for having left Dipper hanging earlier and because now he seemed to be cockblocking the other too.**

**Bill shook his head add reached across Dipper to brush his fingers over Will’s cheek gently. “No need, William,” he reassured him and then kissed the back of Dipper’s ear. “There’s always the dreamscape for this kind of thing...” he whispered the reminder to his boyfriend.**

Dipper instantly tightened his arms around the blue haired demon, keeping him there. “Nope. No leaving for either of you,” he hummed calmly, kissing Will softly to calm him again. 

Another tiny shiver went through him at the kiss- Damn Bill for knowing exactly how to drive him insane by using the smallest tactics. _ You’re very much right, Bill. _

**The blue demon smiled and nuzzled Dipper's chest a little before closing his eyes. He was a little confused because he had thought Bill wouldn't want him to sleep in the same bed as them, but he was glad that it seemed that wasn't the case.**

**Bill closed his eyes, getting ready to sleep once Dipper did. He... He liked this, the bed had never felt so complete, it was as if he been made for three, not just two. He could get used to this.**

Dipper had never felt happier, stuck between the two people he loved most in the world, wrapped up in warmth and a perfect tangle of arms and limbs. The bed was the perfect size for the three of them- by which he meant that it wasn’t actually meant for three people and they had to slush together to make it work.

Slowly, his eyes closed, breath evened out as he slipped off to sleep, eagerly waiting for what Bill had in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let us know what you think of the story so far! Next chapter also contains smut because apparently, we're thirsty af. - Alga


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